Adventures in Step-Parenting
by apriiil
Summary: Bickslow finds himself willingly diving head-first into parenting, and honestly, it's not as bad as he expected it to be.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/Ns:** So. I kind of sat at my desk for a while, right after I'd finished editing this, wondering if I should post it not or wait until I'd gotten part two at the very least finished. Spoiler alert: I haven't even started part two. _

_Anyway. I've had this AU sitting in my WIPs for a ridiculously long time. And, after writing 'Dawn' (that ficlet that made Chapter 17 of Fairies of Fiore), I found the motivation to start working on it again. So, I finally got this part finished. Originally, it was supposed to be a one-shot with a possible sequel. But, the last time I'd touched it, it was around 8-9k words anyway, and I thought about how I'd split it up since I'm trying to avoid writing the ridiculously long stories/chapters for the most part (key word: trying). I thought that this would be a good place to split it, which means part two will be the second part of the original one-shot, and then part three will basically be the sequel._

 _Make sense? Probably not. Anyway, onto the story._

* * *

The mobile buzzing on the edge of the table just had Lucy's laughter quickly dying and a frown etching on her lips when she saw that it was her daughter's babysitter calling her. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd gone on a date with someone and had been actually enjoying herself without being interrupted by her babysitter.

Still, as long as it had been since she'd been on a date that hadn't completely ended in disaster, Lucy knew she couldn't just ignore her phone. As tempted as she was to do so just because she'd been really enjoying herself that night, her daughter came first. So with an apologetic smile to her blue-haired date sitting opposite her, Lucy only sighed and picked up her phone before pushing her chair back to excuse herself. "I'm sorry… I really have to take this."

Bickslow just nodded. "No worries, go ahead." He would admit that he'd found Lucy checking her phone for messages every now and then just a little strange, but he'd put it to the back of his head just because he'd thought their date had been going pretty well. When Lucy came back after just a few more moments though and with a worried expression masking her face, Bickslow couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. "Problem?"

Lucy sighed. "Unfortunately, yeah," she mumbled. She really didn't want to be doing that to the poor man, but she didn't have much choice.

The worst part was that she already really liked Bickslow, yet she was completely blowing all chances at going on a second date with him. Not a single person she'd been out with since starting to date again had been interested in her after finding out she was single mother, so even if she wasn't having to leave in the middle of their date right then, Lucy was certain Bickslow would be no different. She'd even stopped telling guys _before_ going on a date with them that she had a kid, just because it seemed to be an epic turn-off. She always just waited until the end to tell them.

She'd been planning on telling Bickslow about her daughter. She'd just hoped it would be a little later in the evening, and not because said daughter happened to the reason she had to leave the restaurant he'd taken her to.

And considering the amount of good-turned- _bad_ dates Bickslow had been on, he only assumed the call Lucy had received had really just been her escape card. God knows how many times he'd that happen to him. But Lucy… He'd had high hopes for Lucy, just because from all the times they'd found themselves at the same get-togethers and parties with their mutual friends over the last few months, he'd only thought she was a genuinely decent person – and that was a whole lot better than half the other people he'd ever found himself attracted to.

"Have to leave, I take it?" he asked when Lucy put her cardigan back on over her blouse.

"I really wish I didn't, but yes," Lucy replied with an apologetic smile. Their waitress came by and she quickly snatched up their bill from the table to take care of it herself, despite Bickslow's efforts to convince her to let him pay for it. She was tucking her credit card back into her purse as she finally said with a grimace, "That was just my babysitter who called. My, uh… My daughter apparently started throwing up just before, so I just really need to go."

Bickslow only stared at her in shock. "You… You have a… daughter?" he whispered incredulously. He hadn't been expecting to hear that in the slightest. He couldn't even begin to figure out why he was only just finding out about it then, because he was sure it was something he probably should've already known.

"I do, yeah."

"Oh. Wow…"

Lucy wasn't even surprised by Bickslow's reaction. It was exactly like everyone else's when she told them she had a daughter. But with Bickslow, she only felt guiltier than usual for not bringing it up much, _much_ sooner. "I'm really sorry for only telling you now," Lucy continued once they were out the front of the restaurant. "It's just the whole dating with a kid thing is really complicated, and… And, well, most people aren't interested once they know I'm a single parent…"

"Yeah, I can imagine…" Bickslow mumbled. He actually thought it was a little daunting, because _kids_ were complicated – especially when they were someone else's. And he honestly doubted Lucy was the type of person who was just looking for someone to replace her kid's father or anything, but he could see how other guys would jump to that conclusion when Lucy waited to bring up the fact she had a daughter.

And even right then, Bickslow would admit that his interest in her had just dropped a hell of a lot after hearing she had a kid. It just hadn't dropped all the way to zero. Yet.

She stopped and turned back to her uncomfortably silent date for the evening once she'd reached the empty taxi bay at the front of the restaurant, and then continued once again, "But look, if it's any consolation, I was having a nice time tonight. But I just… I can't stay, not when my kid is unwell. And again, I'm _really_ sorry for not telling you before."

"No, it's fine… I, uh… I get it."

Lucy didn't really know what else she could say, so she didn't try to come up with anything else. Thankfully though, a taxi was just pulling up into the empty bay, and she had all intentions of getting in it. It was obvious that Bickslow didn't really want to be having to talk to her any longer or draw their awkward conversation out anymore, so Lucy decided to quickly wrap it up for both their sakes. "Well, thank you for tonight," she said. "But I really do need to get home, so goodnight."

Bickslow only nodded as he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, night…" And when the taxi just pulled away again with Lucy heading home to her daughter, Bickslow only turned back around and went into the restaurant to make a visit to the bar.

* * *

"Oh, look who decided to actually show up today."

Bickslow rolled his eyes at the brunette that sat in one of the cubicles opposite next to his. "Oh be quiet, Ever," he mumbled as she sat down at his own desk amongst the group of four. "I'm barely five minutes late."

Evergreen shook her head as she continued to pester the man over the short dividing wall between their desks. "But five minutes is all it takes, Bix," she said. "Before you know it, five minutes has turned into ten, and then ten is turning in an hour. Before long you'll be just like Macbeth and we'll be lucky to see you at all! Right, Freed?"

The green-haired man barely had time to set his tea down on his own desk before his opinion was supposedly being called upon. Though honestly, Freed had no idea just what his opinion was supposed to be. He'd stopped listening to Evergreen and Bickslow's constant bickering sometime around the time Evergreen had actually started working there and been given the empty desk next to them, and that had been a long time ago. "What was that, Evergreen?"

"Bix is going to end up being just like Macbeth if he keeps coming five minutes late."

Freed sighed as he finally got to sip on his perfectly prepared beverage. "Ever, Bickslow will not disappear off the face of the planet just because he's occasionally a few minutes late for work."

"See?" Bickslow said as he gestured to the only one of his small group of friends that actually knew how logic worked. "Thank you, Freed." He liked his job anyway, so he had no intentions of just deciding to stop coming in one day and entirely work from home just like Macbeth had done. The only reason he was ever a few minutes late to work anyway was just because the publisher he worked for was in the city, and Bickslow unfortunately did _not_ live in the city. And since he'd never really been fond of driving into work every day, he'd started catching the train in not long after he'd started working there. But strangely enough, he wasn't capable of stopping the trains from running a few minutes late in peak hours.

Evergreen sighed, slightly defeated. "Fine… But hey, you had your date with Lucy last night, right?"

"Oh…" Bickslow cleared his throat unconvincingly a few times as he pulled his laptop from his backpack and set it in front of him on the desk. "Um, yeah, I did."

"So? How'd it go?"

Except Bickslow still hadn't really figured that out. He was inclined to believe it had been going really well, but the fact he hadn't known she had a daughter was kind of making it hard for him to see it as anything other than a complete disaster. "I, uh… I don't really know, to be honest," he mumbled. He quickly spun on his chair to face the blond at the desk directly next to his then, and asked despite the headphones the man was wearing, "Hey, Laxus? You've known Lucy longer than me. Did you know she has a kid?"

"You mean Violet?" he responded without looking up from his computer. "Yeah, I knew about her. She's a fucking nightmare, too. I swear all Lucy does is feed the kid sugar."

"Oh, don't say that," Evergreen argued. "Violet is lovely."

"Yeah, sure," Laxus scoffed. "If by _lovely_ you mean a spoilt brat with ADHD."

"She doesn't have ADHD, Laxus," Freed sighed. "She's four; she's merely being a child."

Bickslow just looked between the three of them disbelievingly before blurting out, "Am I the only one who didn't know she had a kid?!"

He knew that his friends had known Lucy from when she'd supposedly been his boss's assistant a few years earlier which had been before he'd even moved to Magnolia, and that they'd been friends with her since then, but Bickslow himself had only known Lucy for just a few months from when they'd first met at Evergreen's birthday – the first of what ended up being many events they'd found themselves both invited to. He could understand Lucy not bringing it up right away, and it certainly hadn't helped that they hadn't really spent much time together at all before he'd even asked her out. But his friends not doing so much as asking if he even knew about the kid was really quite frustrating, especially since it had quickly become obvious to him that they'd all known about Lucy's daughter for a considerable amount of time.

"Are you saying you _didn't_ know she has a daughter?" Freed asked from where he sat opposite Bickslow.

"No, I didn't know! I only found out because her kid got sick and she left halfway through dinner."

"Oh, I hope Violet's okay," Evergreen whispered, lowering her chin to rest in her palm. "She's been getting sick so often this year, the poor thing."

"I'm sure she's fine, Ever," Freed reassured the woman before turning back to Bickslow with a small shrug. "We assumed you already knew about her once you'd asked Lucy on a date."

"Well, I didn't know then," Bickslow mumbled. And he was completely certain of that fact, too, because had he known that Lucy had a daughter, he probably wouldn't have asked her out at all – or at least he thought that was what he'd do.

"So what now?" Laxus asked as he slid his chair across to Bickslow's desk to lean on the corner of it. "Are you going to go out with her again?" After listening to the guy go on and on about how nervous he was to even go on his date with Lucy, Laxus really couldn't help but be curious about whether or not the two would go on a second date. And honestly, he was strangely hoping that Bickslow did want to go out with her again, just because he'd had to put up with Lucy's over-excitement and constant questions about his friend all of the previous day. He even knew that Lucy hadn't told Bickslow about Violet herself yet, but he'd hoped Bickslow wouldn't freak out like all the other idiots Lucy had ended up going on dates on with since she'd had her daughter.

Bickslow shrugged. "I don't know," he mumbled again. "Maybe?" That was the part he had trouble with. On one hand, he'd had a really great time with her before her babysitter had called and she'd had to leave to take care of her kid; so great that he probably would've been fighting the urge to call her as soon as they'd both left the restaurant, had the date gone as planned. But on the other hand, she had a kid, and he'd never dated anyone who had a child before so he had no fucking clue where to even begin when it came to that. And even then, at twenty-nine, Bickslow would willingly admit to anyone that he was most definitely not ready for kids. And if he wasn't ready for his own kids, he was even less ready for taking on someone else's kids – but that was really just jumping too far ahead anyway.

Still, Bickslow didn't know what he was supposed to do. Even liking her as much as he did, and even understanding Lucy's reasons for not mentioning her daughter earlier, Bickslow was still just a little irritated by Lucy not mentioning her daughter beforehand, and that made it really difficult to determine whether he actually wanted to see her again and – god save him for even thinking it because he couldn't remember the last time he even had – see where things _could_ go.

It was all just way too complicated, and Bickslow didn't particularly light complicated, especially when it came to dating.

* * *

Lucy looked back to the bathroom counter when she heard her phone begin to ring. Her daughter was presently occupied by washing herself with the fairy floss scented soap she loved, so Lucy only quickly dried her hands on the nearest towel to reach back for her phone and see who was calling her at half past six on a Monday night.

It was Bickslow, much to her surprise. After their date, she hadn't expected to hear from him again until they were probably invited to the same get together and awkwardly forced to acknowledge each other – and she'd been fine with that, even if she'd also been disappointed by it because she'd had high hopes for Bickslow. Still, it had been nearly two weeks since their disastrous date, so the only reason she was deciding to answer her phone right then was because she wanted to know Bickslow was even calling her in the first place.

She kept her eyes on her daughter playing in the tub as she finally answered her phone. "…Hello?"

It had been ringing for so long that Bickslow had been sure it would only end up going to voicemail, so he was taken by surprise when she actually answered it. "H-Hey! It's… It's Bickslow. How are you?" he asked as he slumped down in his desk chair, just to begin idly spinning around in it.

Lucy's confusion only grew more, but she knew the only way to find out why Bickslow was even calling her was to actually keep talking to him. "I'm, um… I'm good, thank you," Lucy replied. "What about you?"

"I'm doing okay." Bickslow only suddenly wished he'd texted Lucy instead of calling her, just because texting didn't involve any awkward silences which was what he found himself dealing with at that exact moment… But he wanted to ask her out again, and Bickslow really doubted Lucy responding if he'd happened to do so over text. He'd much rather be turned down verbally anyway. But as uncomfortable as the silence was, and as nervous as he was to be actually asking her out again (it was almost worse than the first time he had where it had only taken him three entire weeks to find the courage to ask her out), Bickslow knew he just had to get it over and out with. "Look, I wanted to—"

"Mummy, Mummy, who is it?"

Lucy sighed as Violet stood up at the edge of the tub and tried to reach for her phone. She always let Violet talk on the phone when it was someone like Uncle Natsu or Aunty Erza – or even her father, occasionally – but she couldn't let her talk to Bickslow. "Shh, not now, sweetie," she said, temporarily lifting the phone from her ear so she could gently help the small girl sit back down in the tub. "Come on, sit back down now before you slip and hurt yourself."

Bickslow only then realised the time, and mentally cursed himself for not noticing it sooner. _Of course she's busy at this time. She has a kid, moron._ And it wasn't exactly like he could forget that fact, but he did forget that not everyone had the luxury of having nothing to do as soon as the work day ended. Lucy had her daughter to look after, and judging by all the giggling and what sounded like _splashing_ , he was sure that he was distracting her from something far more important. "Is this a bad time?" he asked after a moment. "I can call you another time or something, it's okay."

"Oh, no! No, it's fine," Lucy quickly assured him. She was curious now, and Violet really wasn't much as much of a problem as some of the other children she knew. She had her moments (and a lot of them), but she wasn't a complete nightmare like one of her former co-workers claimed – and really, Lucy knew perfectly well that Laxus had a soft spot for Violet. Laxus was a big fat liar according to her daughter. But in an attempt to keep Violet preoccupied for a little bit longer just so she could actually talk to Bickslow, Lucy only shifted so she had her phone held against her shoulder, and was picking up the shampoo bottle to squirt some into her hands before massaging it into her daughter's wavy maroon-coloured hair. "What did you want to ask me?" she inquired after another moment.

"Oh. Well, I, uh… I just wanted to see if you were interested in maybe getting coffee with me sometime?"

"Do you mean like a… date?"

"Well, that was the plan."

"Oh, um…" She hadn't been expecting that in the slightest after their last date, and considering how long it had been since then, Lucy had been convinced that Bickslow had lost all interest in her. Still, _she_ still had feelings for him, ones that had only made her disappointed and guilty, and as much as she wanted to say yes to coffee, she couldn't. She was biting on her lip and idly massaging the shampoo into her daughter's long hair as she nervously asked, "Are you sure you haven't gotten me mixed up with someone else?"

"You're the flight attendant, right?" Bickslow responded quickly.

 _Oh no…_ "Um…"

Bickslow grimaced and let his head hit the edge of his desk with a hard and loud _thud_. "Shit, I'm sorry…" he groaned as he lifted his head slowly. "That was a joke. A really, really _terrible_ joke. Just… Just ignore that." His sense of humour really wasn't what people tended to like about him, just because it was mostly inappropriate and somewhat offensive. And when he was nervous, he tended to use humour to try and lighten the mood. The only problem was that it rarely worked in his favour, and that time was no different.

Admittedly, it made Lucy feel somewhat better to hear that he was just teasing, but she had no intentions of laughing. "Oh. I see…" she mumbled. "So… You really want to see me again?"

"I do. 'Cause, you know, I um… I really like you. And I had a really great time at dinner before. The whole _kid_ thing kind of just… threw me off a bit," he reluctantly admitted. "But, wait, she's okay though, right? Your kid?"

She was already smiling like a bit of an idiot at that point, but Bickslow remembering that it had been Violet getting sick that had caused her to leave only made her look even more ridiculous. It was a good thing the only other person who lived with her was her daughter. "Yeah, she's fine now. It was just a bit of an upset tummy."

"Oh, that's good." _That'll make Ever happy._ "But, if you want to, I'd love to see you again." And he'd just thought coffee would be a good idea, because as good as dinner at a restaurant had been for their first date, Bickslow thought something simple would be more appropriate.

"I'd really like that, Bickslow," she whispered.

And with that, they quickly sorted out a time for their coffee date, and until it was time for Violet to go to bed, Lucy only kept having to come up with excuses for why she was smiling so much all of a sudden.

* * *

Their coffee date set for the following Sunday came around, and despite leaving later than she would have liked, Lucy still ended up arriving twenty minutes too early. It seemed to be some kind of curse that made her unable to ever arrive somewhere exactly on time. It was always early, and nothing else.

She didn't really mind being early that morning, though. Bickslow had let her choose the place so she'd decided on one of her favourite places – a charming little café across from a playground she often took Violet to on the weekends. The staff there knew her by that point too, so she wasn't stuck having to keep checking her phone every five seconds just out of boredom. With her book and her friends there, she was all set.

"No Vi today, huh?"

Lucy looked up as one of the waitresses placed her banana and blueberry muffin on her usual table in front of her. She'd been going there for so long that she was on first name basis with all of the staff. "Not today," she said with a kind smile.

"Her dad in town for the weekend again or something?" Minerva wondered. She already knew Violet's father wasn't an active part of their lives, but the kid still knew who her dad was. As far as Minerva knew, though, the guy only came by once or twice a year, usually around her birthday the week before Christmas.

"Nope," Lucy answered. "She's with Natsu and Gray for a little while today."

"I still can't believe you willingly leave her with those two morons," the barista behind the counter commented.

"Oh, be quiet, Max," one of the other baristas scolded the man. "They're not that bad."

Lucy smiled at Yukino coming to her defence. Admittedly, Natsu and Gray were never her first choice for babysitters – strangely, her heavily pierced neighbour Gajeel was – but Violet was perfectly safe with them. She knew that.

Rogue, one of the managers at the Saber Coffee House, was coming over to her table with a fresh pot of coffee and filling up her mug in front of her. "Well, as much as we all love seeing Violet here, we're also glad to _just_ see you occasionally. Everyone needs a few hours to themselves, and you're always welcome to spend that time here," he offered kindly. His employees might not have been able to say it, but he knew they were thinking it. Lucy was part of the family there, even if she didn't work there.

"Thank you, Rogue," Lucy replied softly. "But… I'm not actually here to just take some time for myself."

"Oh?"

"I'm meeting someone for coffee, actually."

"Oooh! Is this someone a _guy_?" Minerva purred as she sat in one of the free seats.

"Maybe…" Lucy shrugged. They were all going to see who she was meeting in just a few more minutes anyway – or at least that was what Lucy thought until she looked to the windows at the front of the café and saw Bickslow walking past. _Looks like he's early._ Seeing the tall man finally make his way through the doors at the far end of the room, she was quickly waving her friends away, lest they embarrass her. "They're here now, so shoo. Go do your jobs!"

Rogue was having to pull Minerva out of her chair as she protested, and Lucy only smiled apologetically to Bickslow when he spotted her across the room. He raised his eyebrows at the two dressed in aprons bickering as they returned to the opposite side of the counter, but then decided it probably wasn't worth questioning it as he made his way straight over to where Lucy was sitting. "Hey, I'm not late, am I?" he began as he sat down at the small table. "I'm so sorry if I am." He'd assumed he was early, if anything.

"Oh, no. You're fine. You're a bit early, actually," Lucy quickly assured him, then glanced down to her coffee and her muffin she'd yet to start eating. "Sorry I already got something for myself. I got here a little too early as well, and I just really wanted to get something. I hope you don't mind."

Bickslow only shrugged. "Not a problem at all." He wasn't sure why it would be, anyway. He was feeling a little awkward just sitting there, though, which only made him worry about how things would be once they'd actually started talking. But he honestly had high hopes for their little date, mostly just because Lucy had actually agreed to it in the first place, so Bickslow was trying his best to not let it show just how uncomfortable it felt.

Bickslow decided it was best to excuse himself then to go order himself something to drink, just in an attempt to put the awkwardness on hold for a few minutes. As he ordered himself a flat while and just a slice of raisin toast, Bickslow couldn't help but notice the dark haired woman with the space buns staring at him from down the opposite end of the counter, as well as the man in the apron standing just next to her and giving him an equally as unnerving glare. And sure, they were trying to be discreet about it, but they were failing, and Bickslow would be lying if he said he wasn't uncomfortable.

But he wasn't going to question it. He was just going to ignore it as best he could and try not to be too disturbed by the strange staff.

With his coffee and toast done, Bickslow returned to Lucy's table, and as soon as he sat down, he became painfully aware of the awkwardness that loomed over them. He just didn't even know what he was supposed to say right then. Did he say hey again? Did he ask her how she was? Did he ask her if the damn coffee there was any good? Did he fucking _apologise_ for how he'd reacted to finding out about her daughter? Or did he just straight up bring up the topic of her having a child?

He was at a complete loss for what to say first, and he couldn't quite remember having a date feel so goddamn uncomfortable.

And of course, Lucy was just as uncomfortable, and she could only pick at her muffin for so long before she was sure she'd explode and have some unfortunate outburst. And really, there was only one particular subject that was making things as awkward as they were, and Lucy was pretty sure that it was the reason for Bickslow sitting so silently and making a point of looking down to his coffee whenever he looked up to realise that Lucy herself had looked up at the exact same time and they'd made awkward eye contact.

So, she just did the only thing she could think of to try and relieve the awkward air between them, and stated quietly, "So… I have a kid."

Bickslow couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank fucking god." He was just so relieved that he hadn't had to bring it up himself, because if Lucy hadn't, Bickslow knew it would be the only thing on his mind until he managed to find the courage to do so himself. He couldn't help that it was the one thing he was most curious about. But of course, as soon as the words had left his mouth, Bickslow was realising that an explanation was most definitely in order. Clearing his throat, he stammered, "I-I just mean… You know… Because I _wanted_ to ask about it, but I just had no idea how to, so I'm just… I'm glad you brought it up."

Lucy only stared at the man opposite her for another second before she found the corners of her mouth twitching and a laugh bubbling up inside her. She couldn't refrain from giggling into her hand, and the look of absolute terror that had been on Bickslow's face had only made it that much more amusing. His reaction hadn't quite been the one she'd expected, but it had been wonderful nonetheless.

It took Lucy a few moments to calm down enough to apologise for her little outburst of laughter. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry. I just wasn't expecting you to say that at all."

"Oh. Right…" he mumbled. Though he would admit that it was just a little amusing. But still, Bickslow was only back to not quite knowing what to say, and he was dropping his head to take a sip of his flat white.

Thankfully though, Lucy was to the rescue once again and quietly asking, "So you said you wanted to ask about my daughter. What did you want to know?"

"Oh, yes! Yeah, I did…" he mumbled again. "I don't know, though… I mean, I don't even really know _what_ I want to know. This is all so new to me…"

Lucy nodded. "I understand," she said. And since Bickslow didn't know where to begin, Lucy took it upon herself to start with the simple things. "Um, well… Her name is Violet. She just turned four a couple of months ago, and she _loves_ talking. Do you, uh, want to see a picture of her?"

"Sure, I guess." He accepted Lucy's phone when she handed it to him, and looked down to the open photo of the grinning girl in what looked to be a park, with maroon hair styled in two simple braids, wearing a bright blue dress, and holding her hands behind her back. Bickslow glanced up to Lucy quickly before returning his gaze to the photograph. "She looks like you," he mused. Their eyes were a little different – Violet's were… well, _violet_ , and Lucy's were more of a chestnut brown – but their faces were too alike for Bickslow _not_ to automatically assume that the child in the picture really was Lucy's own. "She's really cute, too. Wait, is that weird? Oh god. That's totally weird. I'm sorry—"

"It's fine," Lucy laughed as she took her phone back from the rambling man. "You can call her cute, because she is cute." Her daughter was adorable and she took great delight in that fact, even if Lucy was utterly convinced that Violet had gotten more of her father's traits than hers. Sighing softly then, she added, "But she looks more like her father than she does me."

 _Her_ _father… Right…_ Bickslow cleared his throat before taking another sip of his coffee. "And Violet's dad…" he began cautiously, unsure of whether he was crossing a boundary he shouldn't. Now that the conversation had opened up some he wasn't feeling quite so uncomfortable, but still, Bickslow didn't want to ask something he wasn't allowed to. "Is he… You know… around?" It seemed like a fair question to him. By all means, he wasn't looking to _replace_ the guy. He just wanted to know if he was a big part of Violet and, specifically, Lucy's life. He didn't want to offend some guy by _maybe_ starting to date the mother of his child. He could be respectful. But when Lucy sighed through her nose and picked at her muffin, Bickslow took that as a sign of crossing a boundary he shouldn't have. "I'm sorry I asked. You don't need to answer that if you don't want to. I was just, you know, curious," he added with a small smile.

"No no, it's okay. It's just that I've never really been asked that before – not by someone who wants to, like, _date_ me or anything…"

"I see…"

She'd explained her relationship with her daughter's father numerous times, though. She'd told Gajeel when she'd still been pregnant with Violet, and she'd told Laxus when she'd still been working as Erza's assistant, and she'd of course told all of her closest friends. But even having told all of those people, it felt different telling Bickslow. It was more complicated with Bickslow, simply because of that small chance of Bickslow becoming more than just one of her _friends_.

Still though, as somewhat complicated as the relationship with Violet's dad was, Lucy didn't have a problem with telling Bickslow about it. She'd never had a problem with telling people how she even had Violet at all – and Lucy had most definitely had her fair share of rude women asking her just why she was a single mother, too. She didn't mind it. And if Bickslow was asking about Violet's father, she thought it was safe to assume he'd want to know how she'd ended up being a young and single mother in the first place.

But for now, Lucy was only going to answer the question that Bickslow had actually asked. "Well, he's not _actively_ in her life, if that's what you wanted to know."

"Oh. Right." He was honestly a little relieved that she'd answered, too, and he wasn't sure why. "But… He is part of her—well, _your_ life?" Bickslow asked. He visibly grimaced at his choice of words. He already sounded like the jealous boyfriend and he wasn't even her damn boyfriend.

Lucy only nodded. She wasn't going to judge Bickslow too harshly for anything right then. She knew that he was out of his comfort zone when it came to dating someone with a kid, so he was just trying to figure out what he was possibly going to get involved with. Lucy didn't mind that one bit. "He visits Vi at Christmas every year – she's a December baby," she explained with a gentle peal of laughter slipping past her lips. "But other than that, he's never really been a big part of her life. And before you pity me, because _everyone_ does once I tell them that my daughter's father has never been actively involved in her life – I gave him an out when I was pregnant, because I knew that he just wasn't really parent material back then."

"And is he now? Parent material, I mean."

"No," Lucy sighed. "He'll never be. Not really. But, not everyone is. That doesn't mean he's not one of my best friends." She was certain that he would always be one of her best friends. Not even getting accidentally knocked up had changed that. Pausing to nibble on her blueberry muffin, Lucy continued, "He still loves her, though. And Violet knows that he's her dad, too. She just understands that we're not like all the other normal families. It's not the best, but… It works."

Bickslow wasn't even going to argue what worked and what didn't as far as Lucy's family went, because he knew he certainly didn't have the right to. Hell, he didn't think anyone did. That being said, he did think it was just a little odd.

Now though, Bickslow couldn't help but wonder about something else, except now he really was certain that it was going to end up causing a disaster. "Wait… How old are you again?" he asked cautiously nonetheless.

"Twenty-five this June."

 _He nodded. "Right, yeah…" He remembered that from their first date. But if she's twenty-five, and her kid is four…_

Bickslow was too lost in his own mind for a moment to notice the knowing smirk on Lucy's lips before she said, "You're trying to figure out how old I was when I had her, aren't you?"

He couldn't help but wince. "Guilty."

But of course, Lucy had still been expecting it. "I was nineteen when I got pregnant, and twenty when she was born," she answered. "And _no_ , because I know you're thinking it, she was not planned." Getting pregnant had very much been an accident, and even if she did have the odd moment where she wondered what things would be like if she hadn't become a mother so young, Lucy still wouldn't give up Violet for anything in the whole universe.

"I… I wasn't thinking that…" Bickslow mumbled sheepishly.

"No?" Lucy giggled. The grimace on his face was the only answer Lucy needed. "But enough about me," she continued with renewed vigour in her voice. "What about you? Have any children you haven't told me about yet?"

He chuckled lightly as he rubbed at the back of his neck. He certainly didn't have any human children – or at least he sure as hell didn't know of any. "Well, I have three dogs. Do they count?"

"Oh yes. Fur babies definitely count. What kind of dogs do you have?"

"I have a golden retriever called Pip, a beagle called Benji who thinks he's much bigger than he actually is, and an eight-week old border collie called Inky, and he's a clumsy fucker, too."

Lucy couldn't contain her laughter. "You sound like you have your hands full with them," she said.

"Oh yes. I definitely do," Bickslow agreed.

"Violet really loves dogs," Lucy stated, then took a small sip of her coffee.

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "Every time she sees a dog at the park or when we're out, she asks me to get her a puppy."

"What about you though?" Bickslow asked. "Are you a dog person or one of those horrible _cat_ people?"

"Well… Would you still like me if I was a horrible cat person?" Lucy wondered. Of course, she was assuming that Bickslow already did like her despite knowing she had a child, since he had asked her out on that second date after all.

Bickslow knew full well that it wasn't a serious question, but that wasn't going to stop him from giving a semi serious answer. And leaning forward to rest his elbow on the table with his chin in his palm, he answered with a warm smile, "I would still like you." He liked her a hell of a lot right then as it was, and even after just a few more minutes, he was quickly growing more comfortable.

Lucy just smiled back at him as she ducked her head slightly as the warmth in her cheeks became a little too noticeable. "Well, luckily for you, I am somewhat of a dog person," she said quietly. She was a bit of a cat person too, she supposed, but it was really just because some of her closest friends were cat owners. "I just can't have any pets in my apartment." It was a shame, really. She wouldn't mind having a dog – maybe just a small one. But alas, her apartment had very strict rules when it came to pets.

It certainly didn't help that she didn't have the time to look after a pet anyway.

But an idea was coming to Bickslow's mind then, and once again he was doubting whether or not it was appropriate for him to share it. He didn't think it would be that bad for him to do so though, and already he had high hopes for things going well with Lucy. He couldn't help but be rather glad he'd gained the courage to call her and ask her out again.

Clearing his throat and looking down to the table, he said, "You know, if you want to, you could let your daughter come see my dogs for a little while sometime.

"Oh… Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, they're really friendly so they wouldn't hurt her or anything, and… And I don't mind you letting her see them either…"

Lucy couldn't help but smile. She knew that it would at least be a little while before she even thought about introducing Bickslow to her daughter and her daughter to Bickslow, but even just him offering to let Violet play with his dogs was enough to slightly ease Lucy's concerns about whether or not Bickslow was even okay with her having a kid. Dating as a single parent was as just as uncharted territory for her as it was for Bickslow, but she could see how much of an effort he was making right then, and she really appreciated that.

As far as Lucy was concerned, she was part of a package deal. She wasn't looking for someone to love her daughter unconditionally or become her parent. She just wanted her daughter to be _accepted_. And Bickslow… He was accepting Violet. He was accepting her existence and he was accepting that if he wanted to be with Lucy, then he had to accept that she was a mother, too, and that Violet was part of that package deal.

And Lucy liked that. She liked that Bickslow was trying.

"I think she'd really like that."

* * *

It was three months later, nearing the beginning of summer, that Lucy was taking Violet to one of the larger parks in town to meet Bickslow for the first time. Although slightly tricky, the last few months with the blue-haired dog lover had been some of the best she'd ever had.

Lucy had never realised just how difficult it was to be in a relationship while she was a mother, because until then, she'd never really had one. She'd never really been in one before she'd had Violet, either – she'd been in college and had tried to focus on that. But, even with the little experience she actually had as far as proper relationships went, Lucy figured it would've been easier if she hadn't had Violet. She'd have been able to see more of Bickslow had she not had her daughter to worry about, and she wouldn't have had to be worrying about whether or not Bickslow was someone she could trust to be around her daughter.

Still, even as Lucy realised that things no doubt would've been easier with Bickslow if Violet wasn't part of the mix, Lucy also realised that it was probably a good thing that things were the way they were. Things were slow that way, and Lucy saw that as a blessing, if anything. Three months in and they were still just doing the typical dinner and a movie date or something of that nature, and Lucy wouldn't have had it any other way. And as far as she was aware, Bickslow wouldn't either. Things going slow meant he'd had time to wrap his head around the whole kid thing.

It had taken a little while for Lucy to figure out how to bring up Bickslow to Violet, but she eventually decided that the best course was to just slowly start working her new _friend_ into conversations with her daughter. It hadn't been hard, strangely. She'd been picking up Violet from her pre-school one day when Violet had told her once again just how much she wanted a puppy (one of the other students had brought their new puppy in for show and tell!), and all Lucy'd had to do was say that she knew someone with three puppies! Or, well... A puppy and two _big_ puppies, but that was close enough anyway. But then, it had only been a matter of occasionally slipping Bickslow into random conversations and they were set.

Though really, Violet was only four after all, and Lucy knew that the kid couldn't really care less about anything she said about Bickslow, not unless it involved his four legged friends. Besides, even if Violet did understand that their family wasn't like everyone else's, Lucy sure as hell didn't think her daughter was going to understand the whole truth. Not yet, at least. It certainly didn't help that Lucy had wanted to wait to introduce Bickslow as something more than just her friend to Violet until she knew what her daughter actually thought of him. She had high hopes, of course, but on the off chance the kid didn't like Bickslow, then Lucy knew she'd just have to say her goodbyes to him.

Violet was always going to come before anything else, but that was something Bickslow already knew and Lucy was thankful for it.

By the time they arrived at the park at a little before noon, Lucy was convinced Violet was more excited than she was. Her daughter would've been bouncing up and down had she not been buckled into her car seat, and it was really all because Violet was just looking forward to impressing Bickslow with all she knew about the furry four-legged friends – of course, Violet was also super excited to see the dogs themselves, too, but the _'Cool Facts About Dogs'_ book that she'd gotten a couple of months earlier was basically her favourite item in the world at that point and she really was rather keen on impressing Bickslow with it.

Bickslow was already waiting at the park by the time Lucy was grabbing the picnic basket and locking up her car, and it was Violet who actually spotted him first, much to Lucy's surprise. Although when she took her daughter's hand after grabbing all of her things from the car, she could see why Violet had already recognised him – it was hard to miss the man with the obnoxiously vivid blue hair that had seemingly become a pillow for a golden retriever, a beagle, and a border collie puppy.

"Mummy, Mummy, is that him?" Violet asked excitedly.

"It sure is, hun," Lucy answered, and when Violet began tugging on her hand impatiently, Lucy had no choice but to let her nearly five-year-old daughter drag her over towards the man with the dogs. She supposed it was a good thing that Violet wasn't just trying to run off to a complete stranger without her, but considering how shy Violet usually was around people she didn't know (hell, even those she did know), Lucy was just a little surprised by her excitement and enthusiasm to actually go and meet Bickslow.

It was only when they'd actually reached Bickslow that Violet suddenly shifted into her usual shy self. Not even the energetic and curious puppies getting off their owner to sniff and see who she was could bring her out of her shell, though Lucy could tell that they were tempting her.

When his dogs left him, Bickslow rightly assumed that it was from Lucy and Violet finally arriving – well, it could've been someone else, since he'd had his eyes closed while enjoying the warmth from his makeshift canine blanket and the sun, but Lucy and Violet were the only ones he was expecting so it made sense for it to be them. So when he sat up and looked to where his dogs were happily barking and panting, he wasn't surprised to see a short blonde he was rather fond of, and then peeking her head out behind her, a small girl that Bickslow was rather excited to finally meet.

"Hey," Bickslow grinned.

Lucy smiled back to him as she reached down to gently rub the large golden retriever's ears – she knew that one was named Pip. "Hey yourself," she replied. "Sorry we're a little late. Vi wanted to stop in at the pet store and pick up some treats for your puppies. Isn't that right?"

Violet only glanced up to her mother nervously and continued to clutch at the bottom of Lucy's tunic.

Bickslow couldn't help but find it a little cute though, and he didn't really mind that Violet was hiding from him. Lucy had already told him that her daughter might be a little shy around him at first – she took a little while to warm up to people sometimes, although she was far better with adults than other children, apparently. "Ah, it's no problem. I'm sure they'll appreciate the extra treats though," he chuckled. Picking himself up from where he sat on the grass just enough so that he was now kneeling between his dogs and just a little closer to Lucy and Violet, Bickslow pushed his sunglasses up to rest on his head and smiled warmly at the girl looking between him and his canines curiously. "You must be Violet then. I'm Bickslow. It's really nice to finally meet you!" he said. "Your mum has told me a lot about you, you know?"

Lucy looked down to her daughter. "Aren't you going to say hi, sweetie?"

"H-Hi…" Violet mumbled. The border collie sniffing at her feet was making it a little hard not to giggle, but then Pip barging his way past Bickslow to get to her and lick her face was what had her cracking. In a matter of seconds, Violet was squealing and giggling with delight as she found herself sitting on the grass behind her mother and being adorned with affection by a fluffy golden retriever, a bouncing beagle, and an overly energetic border collie.

Lucy didn't worry much about it for a moment. She knew the dogs were harmless. The first time she'd visited Bickslow's whilst Gajeel had been watching Violet for the night, the dogs had greeted her much the same – although Inky had been a little smaller then. She thought it funny how fast puppies grew up, now that she was seeing the clumsy animal lick her daughter's chin and try rolling over her. He'd been the size of Bickslow's beagle when Lucy had first seen Inky. Now… Now he was just a little smaller than his big sister Pip.

After a minute, Bickslow decided it was time to call his hounds off the poor girl, lest they actually lick her death – because they probably would if he let them. They loved meeting new people. "Alright, alright. That's enough you lot. Come here," Bickslow ordered them as he rose to his feet. Benji the beagle was the first to obey him (albeit reluctantly and it showed as he wagged his tail happily and sat impatiently where he was told to), simply because he was the oldest and most trained; Pip followed next and laid herself down across Bickslow's feet in hopes of getting her belly rubbed; but Inky… Inky had to be told a few more times to sit. He might've looked fully grown at a little over seven months old, but he certainly wasn't just yet. He was still very much a puppy. Sighing, Bickslow crouched down to pat Pip's head as Lucy picked up Violet from the grass. "Sorry about that, Violet. They can be a bit over-excited with new people. Don't ya, you silly things?" Pip took the opportunity to lick his face and Bickslow just rolled his eyes. "Are you okay though?"

"Ah, it's okay," Lucy said for Violet as she lifted her up with a bit of a struggle. "You're fine, aren't you, baby?"

Violet nodded and smiled brightly.

"Good! Now…" Bickslow clapped his hands together and his mouth turned up into a wide grin. "Someone told me you happen to really love dogs…"

* * *

Violet warmed up to Bickslow quickly once she'd gotten over her initial shyness and was allowed to start playing with the dogs. For the most part, Lucy was ignored. All Violet was interested in were the dogs, and since Lucy didn't really know anything about them, Bickslow was getting all the attention. Well, he was getting a little bit of it – the dogs were getting most of it, of course.

Lucy didn't mind it much, even if she had been just a little hurt for a while after her daughter had decided to ignore her for Bickslow. But even if Lucy hadn't spent all that much time with Bickslow over the last couple of months, and it was his first time meeting Violet, she found that she didn't mind much just because she _trusted_ him. She trusted him with Violet, and… Violet seemed to really like him, which made things a whole lot easier for Lucy and it was why she'd been able to just sit under a shady tree and watch with a smile on her face as Violet had played on the jungle gym with Bickslow and his dogs.

Eventually it came time to have their picnic lunch that Lucy had brought, and so she called them out of the sun and into the shade of the large oak tree to relax. Bickslow's dogs spent the good portion of five minutes lapping up water from the bowl that Bickslow had brought from his car, and Violet spent those five minutes laughing at them and the way their tongues curled to lap up the water. She'd even tried convincing her mother to let her drink from a bowl, too (it didn't work, fortunately).

By the time the dogs were all laying in the sun and having their sixth nap of the day, they'd mostly finished their lunch, and Violet was reading her favourite book in the world for what was probably the thousandth time. Of course, some words still confused her, and Lucy watched as her daughter's brow furrowed in confusion before she tried sounding out the word for herself. "Mu… Mu-sc-le…" Violet frowned, but then quickly got up, stepped over the container of carrot sticks and the picnic basket, and that sat down in front of Bickslow, who'd been reclining on his side and keeping his head propped up with his elbow on the ground. "What's that word?" she asked, pointing to the sentence on the page.

Lucy sighed. "Vi, come on, don't bother Bickslow with—"

"Which one?" Bickslow asked. Violet pointed again. "Ah. _Muscles_. You almost had it on your own!"

Violet beamed as she crossed her legs under her and then leant back against Bickslow to continue reading to herself. Lucy looked just about ready to implode, but Bickslow only chuckled quietly and shook his head. He didn't mind it in the slightest. Violet being comfortable around him already was just a damn _miracle_.

"Did you… Did you know that dogs have eighteen _mus_ … muscles… in their ears?" Violet said over her shoulder.

Bickslow shook his head. "I had no idea," he answered. He'd read the sentence when Violet had shown him before, but still. "I guess that's why they have so much expression in their ears then, right?"

Violet nodded. "Yeah! And… And did you know that Dalmatians aren't born with their spots?"

"I didn't know that, either."

"They're born white! And then… And then they get their spots later." She flicked through the cardboard pages until she found the Dalmatian page and then held up the book for Bickslow to see. "See?"

"Aww, isn't that adorable," Bickslow chuckled again. He'd been considering getting a Dalmatian when he'd gotten Inky, but the black-and-white ball of fluff had just been too damn cute to pass up.

"Mummy says we can't get a dog because we live in an apartment…" Violet mumbled then. "I wanted a Dalmatian puppy for Christmas but she said we weren't allowed…"

Lucy frowned. So, sure, she wasn't a massive lover of dogs like Violet and Bickslow were, but it wasn't like she'd wanted to say no to Violet then. The kid had been asking for a puppy since she'd learned to talk, and no matter how much she wanted to be able to get Violet a puppy, she just couldn't. No pets were allowed in the building. Of course, it didn't help that her favourite neighbour had a cat, so Violet was always arguing that if _Gajeel_ was allowed a pet, then how come they weren't? Strangely enough though, explaining to a four year old that it wasn't up to her what their neighbours did was a difficult task.

But still, if Lucy had been able to get her daughter a puppy, she would've. But she was going to follow her building's rules, because moving was just completely out of the question.

Of course though, Bickslow had heard that story by that point. And he could see how guilty Lucy felt right then just by lifting his head. But it wasn't like Violet meant to do that - she was only four for heaven's sake (of course though, Bickslow was already having to remind himself of that occasionally). "Well, you know... I'm sure your mum would really love to get you a puppy..." Bickslow began softly as he sat up slightly, just to peer over the girl's shoulder and to the book she was still reading. "But she'd be breaking the rules if she did that, and you don't want her to get in trouble, do you?"

Violet shook her head. "No..." she mumbled.

"Good. How about this though..." He pulled himself up completely, then scooted forward so he was sitting cross legged next to the girl. Grinning when Violet looked up at him curiously, he continued, "If your mum doesn't mind, of course... You can come see my dogs _whenever_ you want to."

Her little face lit up again, and even Lucy couldn't help but smile at it. "Really?!"

"Sure thing. They like you, you know."

Violet jumped up to launch herself into Bickslow's lap, hugging him as tightly as she could manage. "Oooh, thank you, Bickso! You're the best!" she giggled happily. Bickslow could only roll her eyes and hug the girl back. He had to admit that he didn't hate being called _Bickso_ either, not that he was sure how Violet had started doing it in the first place.

The rest of the afternoon was spent much the same as before, with lots of playing and running around after Bickslow's dogs in the afternoon sun. By the end of the day, Violet was completely tuckered out, and was too tired to protest being carried back to the car to finally head home.

Lucy turned back to Bickslow once she was sure Violet was all strapped in, and she smiled nervously while fiddling with the keys in her hands. All of it with Bickslow was just so new and wonderful, and sometimes she couldn't help but get nervous. Especially when he looked at her with that wide grin of his, the one that made her feel annoyingly weak in the knees and made her stomach flutter.

"So I'd say today was a success," Bickslow said as he stopped just in front of her. Behind him, his dogs were all trying to jump over the back seat to stick their heads out the open window, and in front of him, Violet was staring and watching curiously – but she was four, so everything she did was out of curiosity.

"I'd say so too," Lucy agreed with a slight giggle. "Although I do feel like I was ignored just a little bit. Or a lot."

Bickslow chuckled. Okay, so he'd noticed that Violet had been ignoring Lucy just a little, but… Honestly? He'd loved it, even though he'd still come in second to the dogs. "What can I say? Me plus dogs equals awesome. She loves me."

"Honestly, I think she kind of does…" she murmured. It had been surprising, too. She'd somewhat expected Violet to get along with Bickslow, just because of the dogs, but… Well, Lucy hadn't expected things to go _that_ well. It had been _amazing_. Lucy couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen Violet come out of her shell that much, or if she had at all. She'd always been quiet around people she didn't know, and only after warming up to them did she turn into the _'hyperactive brat'_ that Laxus loved to call her.

…With Bickslow though, Violet had just been herself the entire time – well, aside from the small bout of shyness when they're first arrived at the park, but that had been nothing. And Lucy didn't think she could've asked for anything better than that. Because she really liked Bickslow, and she'd really, _really_ wanted the two of them to get along.

"But that's a good thing… Right?"

Lucy sighed and gave him a soft smile. "It is. It's a good thing." She was just… Okay, she was a tiny bit offended, that's all.

Bickslow chuckled again before quickly glancing back over his shoulder to find all three of his dogs drooling over the window. "Well, today was really fun, and I'm glad we got to do it. Violet… She's amazing. She's something else entirely, you know that?" And he was more than glad to be able to finally meet her. It was safe to say Violet had become his favourite four-year-old ever… Not that he knew any other four-year-olds, but that wasn't the point. "But, I need to get these demons back home before they break my window _again_."

He didn't even think about it when he leant in just to kiss her cheek – he'd kissed her after every date, after their second one, at least. But then he saw Violet staring at him again from behind Lucy, and Bickslow remembered that Lucy had only said that he was a _very special friend of Mummy's_ when she'd talked about him at home. And very special friends didn't kiss. Or at least Bickslow didn't think they didn't.

But judging by Lucy's blush, he was right to think that he shouldn't have just kissed her cheek. "Oh god. I… I didn't mean to… I forgot…" Bickslow blabbered on, eyes wide as he grimaced.

Lucy heard Violet giggle from inside the car before she turned to glance back to her, and it only had Lucy blushing harder. "It's… It's okay…" she whispered. She would've had to get around to telling Violet that Bickslow was actually her boyfriend – well, sort of – at some point, right? Now, the conversation was going to come sooner than later, and Lucy didn't seem to think that would be as uncomfortable as she'd thought. It certainly helped that Violet liked the guy.

"I, well, uh…" He scratched the back of his head and smiled sheepishly at Violet when he saw her. _Damn that kid._ She was pointing to her mother and then picking up her book to kiss the cover of it. "I get the feeling your kid wants to kiss you again for some bizarre reason, so…" That time, he pressed his lips to Lucy's, and he peeked an eye open just to see Violet clapping and bouncing in her seat.

It was short and sweet, but Lucy was giggling and blushing when Bickslow pulled away. Finally, with Lucy honestly just too stunned (and strangely lightheaded) to say anything, they bid their awkward goodbyes to each other and each turned to climb into their respective cars.

Lucy just sat behind the steering wheel for a second, hearing her heat pounding in her ears, while Bickslow pulled out of the parking lot and began driving away. She couldn't even comprehend what Bickslow had meant when he'd said that Violet had wanted him to kiss her again. But part of her didn't even want to know.

"Mummy?"

Violet's voice drew her from her thoughts quickly, and Lucy blinked twice to reorient herself. "Yeah, sweetheart?" she replied, glancing up to the rear-view mirror to see her daughter's reflection as she reached for her own seatbelt.

"Do you and Bickso love each other?"

"W-What?! No!" Lucy shrieked. "Why would you… Why would you ask that?!"

Violet merely shrugged and went back to reading her dog book.

* * *

 **A/Ns:** If you've read 'Dawn', you'll hopefully recognise Violet. So yes, this is the AU I mentioned at the end of this little ficlet. And don't worry, all will be revealed by the time all three parts are complete...


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/Ns:** No surprise my hiatus sort of failed. But in a way, I guess it didn't. I've had time to really get over myself. And even if it was only for a little while, I have distanced myself from ffnet a little bit over the last few weeks. _

_Anyway, I would go on this huge spiel about how I don't really care if you review or not anymore (I can't force you to do anything you don't want to do), but I don't really have the energy to type it all out again. I put it in Chapter 7 of Third Time's the Charm just before. Basically, the gist of it was though: I don't have the time to write as it is, so I don't have time to worry about whether or not people actually like my writing. If you do take the time to review, at least occasionally, then I love you, I really do. But if you're one of those readers who just ticks that follow/favourite box and then moves onto the next fic like nothing, then I honestly don't give a damn about you, and I honestly do not care whether you like/hate/or even read my writing. I have zero time for you if you have zero time to leave feedback. Harsh, but the truth._

 _Somehow that translates to me getting over myself._

 _Anyway, this fic is actually going to be four parts. I think it works a little better. I also posted it on my writing blog, **april-vsthewords . tumblr . com** a week or so ago, and TTTC a little while back. Basically instead of putting it on my main blog ( **raijindork . tumblr . com** ), all of my writing will be going there instead. _

* * *

Lucy sighed for the umpteenth time when Violet came running up to her once again, asking if it was two o'clock yet. "No, honey, it's not," she said. It was still eleven o'clock… Just like it had been five minutes earlier. "Now have you put your toys away like I asked you to?"

Violet nodded. "Yes, Mummy!"

"Are you sure?"

The girl shifted uncomfortably on her feet for a second before running back in the direction she'd come, and heading presumably to her bedroom to finish putting away her toys. Lucy shook her head and went back to dusting every nook and cranny she could.

She was just as excited as her daughter was for two o'clock to finally come around. That was when Bickslow would be getting there. And sure, it wasn't the first time he'd be coming over – he'd visited plenty of times – but it was the first time he'd actually be staying the night. As excited as she was about that, Lucy was also incredibly nervous. It would be the first time she had someone stay the night since… Well, since ever, really. It was new territory for her.

Of course though, it wasn't going to be a normal sleepover – not an adult one, at least (not that they'd actually slept together at all in the five months they'd been seeing each other, though that wasn't entirely from a lack of trying). It was going to be a full-blown, actual sleepover. Pyjama party, pizza and ice cream, and movie marathons and all. Naturally, it had been Violet's idea, because as soon as Lucy had asked if she'd be okay with Bickslow maybe spending the odd night there occasionally, the four-and-a-half year old had only looked to her mother with wide eyes and asked, _'Like a sleepover?'_ And, of course, Lucy just hadn't bothered explaining it.

So, that was how their first night together was going to go. Bickslow would get there at two, they'd spend the rest of the afternoon eating junk food, playing board games (Violet was somehow already the queen of Monopoly, and Lucy had no idea who had taught her how to play – she figured it was Gajeel or her dad), and watching Violet's favourite movies. Then, it would be pizza time, ice-cream time, and then more movies before they finally all went to bed for the night.

Honestly, Lucy was sure Violet was actually more excited about Bickslow staying the night than Lucy herself was.

Until two o'clock came though, Lucy was just going to busy herself with making sure her small two-bedroom apartment was absolutely spotless. She cleaned when she was nervous, and naturally, she was nervous.

By the time that fateful time did come around though, Violet was practically bouncing off the walls with energy and excitement (Lucy was regretting giving her lime cordial). And as soon as she heard the knock on the door, Violet was bounding past her mother, shouting, "I'll get it! I'll get it!" And then reaching up to turn the knob and pull the door open. "Bickso!"

Bickslow chuckled when the girl ran at him and hugged his waist. "Hiya, monkey," he said, patting her head gently. She let go of him after a moment just to reach up to his hand and drag him into the apartment. Lucy stood leaning against the back of the sofa, arms crossed and with a pleasant smile on her lips. Bickslow greeted her next, grinning as he was dragged into the living room. "Hi," he said to her.

She pushed herself off the lounge and motioned for Bickslow to follow her. "Come on, you can leave your stuff down here." If Violet had her way, the guy would probably be leaving his things in her room, and… Well, Lucy would be lying if she said that she'd liked having little to no private time with him in the last six months. Violet was always there, or it was his dogs (which, honestly were just a little weird sometimes). At least she'd be able to get a few moments with Bickslow alone over the next twenty-odd hours. Or so she hoped.

Violet protested, of course. She was set on showing Bickslow where he was going to sleep (which was in front of the lounge, on the floor, with the rest of them). He crouched down to be on her level, then held her cheeks between his hands to softly assure her, "I'll be back in a minute, okay? Then I'm all yours."

"Okay…" she mumbled.

Bickslow made his way down the short hall to Lucy's bedroom then. She sat on the edge of her bed, leaning on her hands. "You can just drop your things down anywhere," she said with a sigh once she saw him. "Not like I'll be using the room tonight anyway…"

He only nodded, dropping his backpack and the pillow (the one that Violet told him to remember to bring when she'd ended up taking the phone off Lucy once she'd realised her mother was on the phone to him the night before) right on the floor and continuing on his path to the bed. "Uh-huh… Sure…"

Lucy felt her face grow warm when Bickslow was before her and he was putting his knee up on the bed beside her, and slowly leaning forward and forcing her to lean back, falling onto her elbows. "Bickslow? W-What are you—"

"Just shut up and let me kiss you."

"I…" She paused, licking her dry lips quickly, then nodded. "Okay," she whispered. Bickslow's grin grew momentarily wider before he closed the last of the distance between them and pressed his lips softly to hers, right as Lucy finally fell all the way down onto the bed, and she couldn't help the way her arms slowly lifted to drape lazily over Bickslow's shoulders as their lips began to move together slowly.

Her face was even more flushed when Bickslow did pull back, drawing an almost audible whimper from Lucy – she'd been needing it more than she'd expected, as it turns out. He wouldn't have stopped at all had it not been for Violet. She hadn't walked in on them, thankfully, but Bickslow was definitely afraid of it happening. So, until they had more than a few moments to themselves, Bickslow was fine with stolen kisses here and there and mostly-innocent touches. And so was Lucy.

But, now he'd greeted his girlfriend properly, and that was all Bickslow had wanted to do. "Hi," he whispered.

"Hello," Lucy giggled. She quickly became aware of just they were right then once her head cleared slightly, and with a quick glance to her open bedroom door at the end of the bed, Lucy couldn't help but worry what Violet would be asking if she were to happen to walk in right then and find Bickslow kneeling on the edge of the bed and holding himself up over her – which was entirely possible. She tried not to think about it too much for the next few moments though, and instead let her arms fall back down to tuck them into her chest again before beginning softly, "I know an actual sleepover probably isn't even close to what you had in mind for our first… Well, our first _sleepover_."

"What? Are you kidding? This is totally what I had in mind."

She pursed her lips before mumbling, "It was not."

Okay, so maybe it wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind when Lucy had first asked him if he wanted to stay over, but it wasn't like he was complaining. He'd long since accepted the fact that being with Lucy wouldn't exactly be the kind of normal that he knew, because she had Violet, and that was perfectly fine with Bickslow. He didn't mind that things were, for the most part, just a little slow. Or that Lucy had only updated her relationship status online just a few weeks earlier, not that it had been a surprise for anyone to see the post. Or even that his first time spending the night at Lucy's apartment would involve him not taking his clothes off (or taking Lucy's off, for that matter). Honestly, he didn't mind any of it.

Lucy had Violet, and Violet came first, and Bickslow was more than okay with that. Besides, he'd be lying if he said he didn't have a massive soft spot for the kid and a Violet-shaped nook in his heart already.

Falling off to the side and propping himself on his elbow, Bickslow let out a sigh. "Fine, it's really not even close to what I had in mind," he admitted. "But I think Vi's idea is a whole lot more fun anyway."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course. I even went out and bought actual pyjamas for this, you know. Well, pyjama pants, but still."

"What did you sleep in before then?" Lucy asked.

He shrugged. "Mostly nothing." He took great delight in the way her face flushed once again, and he took the opportunity to quickly press a kiss to her cheek. "I'm just messing with you," he chuckled. He wore clothes to bed… Ninety-nine percent of the time, at least. But it was really mostly just sweatpants or his boxers or something, and boxers didn't seem appropriate for sleeping next to a four-year-old girl.

Lucy sighed and shook her head. Sometimes she thought the man was a menace to society… But she liked that. Sometimes. Pulling herself up then, she turned to hold out her arms and pull Bickslow up – not that she helped much at all – and smoothed down her clothes just in case. "Well, thank you for agreeing to all of it anyway. Although, you might want to hurry up and get back out there… Otherwise she'll come down here to drag you out."

And, the rest of the afternoon and evening went to exactly according to plan. They played games, ate food, watched movies, and ate more food. Bickslow even got attacked by flying pillows at one point when they'd been setting up the living room for the night. By 7 p.m., they were all in their pyjamas (Bickslow's had yellow dragons on them) and tucked up in their makeshift bed made of lots of blankets, lounge cushions, and pillows, eating ice-cream, and watching _101 Dalmatians_.

Violet ended up staying up as long as she could of course, but by eight thirty, she was fast asleep between the both of them. It had been too early for Lucy and Bickslow to go to sleep, so with Violet sleeping peacefully between them, they'd turned the volume down on the T.V. and finished off watching _Happy Feet_ themselves.

It was when he was about to go to bed himself though, after quietly pulling himself off the makeshift bed to take some of the dishes scattered around them to the kitchen to avoid someone tripping on them in the middle of the night, and then settling back down, that Bickslow realised something. He realised that all of that – Lucy, Violet, everything – was what he'd been missing from his life, and without ever knowing it, too. He already knew he was so completely head over heels for Lucy, but Violet? Violet had become one of his favourite parts of his world already, and Bickslow only thought he was lucky to have found the most amazing little family ever. He loved them both to pieces, and he could honestly say that their little sleepover was one of the best nights of his life.

He was just honoured to be a part of it all, really. That Violet liked him and accepted him as part of her mother's life as much as she did. Because if Violet hadn't warmed up to him as quickly as she had, then he wouldn't be there at all, and Bickslow really did love that he was.

* * *

It was a month after their sleepover where Bickslow was loading up his dishwasher with the help of Lucy, and watching Violet run around his backyard with the dogs. It was a Saturday, and they were a few weeks into autumn by that point. The trees had already started to turn and his backyard was already beginning to become strewn with the orange and red leaves.

"She's going to face-plant in the second. Just wait for it," Lucy murmured, absent-mindedly handing another two plates from lunch to the man while she kept her eyes trained on her daughter through the window.

Bickslow looked up just in time to see it happen, and he couldn't help but roll his eyes and shake his head. Violet wasn't exactly the most coordinated as Bickslow had come to learn, especially not after she'd been running around in circles. But she was four (or, four and nine months, as she kept reminding everyone), so she was allowed to be clumsy. Bickslow found it adorable anyway.

"Told you," Lucy giggled.

They finished loading up the dishwasher and Lucy dusted her hands on a tea towel before returning to the living room to fish her phone out of her bag and check any notifications. She squealed when she saw a message and a missed call from Erik, and Bickslow just about had a heart attack when he slid into the room to find Lucy jumping up and down excitedly and holding her phone out. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Erik's here!" she squealed. "He's here!"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Erik?" Bickslow repeated. "Who is—Oh… You mean… You mean Vi's dad, Erik?" He didn't know all that much about the man, other than that he travelled and worked a lot. Bickslow hadn't talked with Lucy about it much in the seven or so months they'd been together.

"Mm-hmm!" He was at the apartment right then apparently, and wondering where they were. Had it been anyone else asking her why she wasn't home on a Saturday afternoon, she would've just replied and told them she was at her boyfriend's house with Violet, but she couldn't just do that for Because Erik didn't actually know about Bickslow. And secondly, she always loved seeing Erik, and so did Violet. "Gosh, Vi is going to be so happy to see him!"

"Yeah, I can imagine…" Bickslow mumbled. He couldn't help but be slightly uncomfortable though, and he wasn't sure why. "I take it you need to go then?"

She smiled apologetically as she picked up her cardigan and bag. "I don't know how long he's in town for, and… And, well, Vi will want to see him straight away anyway." Violet always did, and Lucy never stopped her. She would've preferred to stay at Bickslow's a little while longer, but she just couldn't.

He nodded. "It's fine, I understand."

Lucy lingered for a moment, only wondering if Bickslow really was fine, before she went outside to collect Violet. On the way back to the front door, Lucy only cringed at the trail of dirt that Violet left behind her as she ran through the house. She would've been wondering how her daughter had managed to get so dirty, but alas, she had been playing outside and getting trampled by oversized puppies for a while. "Violet… You're making a mess!"

The girl was too busy running towards Bickslow to pay any attention to her mother, though. "Bickso! Bickso! Come meet Daddy!" she beamed.

Bickslow tried not to grimace. Sure, he'd love to meet the guy… But… Not right then. "Maybe some other time, okay, Vi?"

"But… But…"

"Maybe Bix is busy this afternoon, sweetie," Lucy offered softly as she pulled a twig from Violet's braids. Lucy knew full well that Bickslow had absolutely zero plans for the rest of the afternoon, since they were supposed to be spending it together, but Violet didn't need to know that. "Now come on, the sooner we get home, the sooner you can tell Daddy all about Bickslow!"

That seemed to excite Violet, and she was quickly nodding her head and then hugging Bickslow quickly. "Bye, Bickso!" she said, and was then rushing to the door to pull it open, and running to Lucy's car in the driveway.

Bickslow joined Lucy on the front steps, both of them keeping a watchful eye on Violet until she was in the back seat of the car and buckling herself up (she'd finally grown out of her carseat, much to Lucy's delight). "I'm sorry things got cut short… And the mess on the floor…" Lucy mumbled.

Bickslow shook his head. "It's fine, don't worry about it." And the mess he didn't even really care about. His dogs brought in half the backyard on a daily basis.

"Well, I, uh… I better get going then…" Lucy glanced back behind her to the car before turning back to face Bickslow, and then she was rising onto her toes to quickly kiss her boyfriend on the lips. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded that time and watched her turn to finally head for her car. "Drive safe," he called out before she closed the door behind her, and then waited until she'd pulled out of the driveway and she was on her way before he headed back inside. Bickslow wasn't even surprised to hear the dogs whining at the back door once he made it to the kitchen again. They were always like that once Violet left.

* * *

"So do you love him?"

Lucy returned to the lounge with the cups of tea in hand and passed one of them to Erik before she settled herself back into the corner again. Violet was in her room playing with the new toys and books that Erik had brought back for her, which left Lucy and Erik to catch up, and, of course, talk about Bickslow.

Lucy hadn't even had a chance to say anything about him before Violet had blurted out they were at Bickslow's house in answer to Erik's question about where they'd been, which had only prompted Erik to ask who _Bickso_ was, and, well… Violet had answered that, too. Bickso was Mummy's boyfriend – the one that Erik had no idea even existed.

But, of course, the slight awkwardness that followed hadn't been Violet's fault. It was Lucy's, really, but she just hadn't known how to bring up the fact that she'd been seeing someone. Erik called less than he visited, and Lucy hadn't exactly just wanted to text him and be like, _'Oh, I almost forgot. I'm dating someone now. Violet really likes him and I really like him, too.'_ That had just felt so wrong to Lucy. It had felt too important to just bring it up like that, because dating someone was a big thing for Lucy.

Now though, after telling Erik all about Bickslow – from random little facts about him, what he did, and almost too much about their relationship and how it had started – they were here, with Erik asking her if she loved him. And Lucy wished it was a simple answer, because after seven months with him, she thought that it was something she should know for certain… But it wasn't a simple answer. Because she just didn't know.

"I… I don't know." She stirred the teabag around the cup gently before taking a sip.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Erik asked. "Either you love the guy or you don't."

Lucy shrugged. "I just don't know," she said again. She wished she knew the answer. The best Lucy had was _'I think I do,_ ' and that wasn't really good enough.

It was just… complicated. And it was all still so new to Lucy. Bickslow was the first, real relationship she'd had – she'd never really dated much when she'd been younger, and then Violet had come along so she'd stopped even trying to date for a few years. He was the first person, aside from her friends, that she'd allowed to be part of her daughter's life, and as a (mostly) single parent, that was something she'd had to consider in great depth. That was why she'd waited nearly three whole months before letting Violet meet Bickslow. She'd wanted to get to know him and decide whether she could trust him first. And at the end of the day, Lucy didn't really care all that much about the chances of Bickslow breaking her heart. She cared about him breaking her daughter's heart. And Lucy hated that it was something she still worried about at all.

Still, it wasn't just her own heart she had to protect, but it was Violet's too, and that was one of the main reasons that Lucy still didn't know if she loved the guy or not, even after seven months together. She'd honestly just been trying her best to keep her heart locked away.

That, and… She'd never actually been in love with anyone before, so she really had no clue what it was supposed to feel like anyway.

Erik sighed through his nose. He knew Lucy like the back of his hand (which, was rather well, considering he'd been single for the last five years), which meant he knew she'd never dated seriously and she'd never really loved anyone before – not romantically, at least. And it wasn't like he was any better, but that wasn't the point.

"Well, at least tell me you've slept with the guy already," he said then. _Maybe the whole love conversation was a bit too early…_ Sex, however, was not. But Lucy sipping at her tea and making a point of looking to the other side of the room as the only answer Erik needed. "You're kidding me. You haven't even slept with him yet?!"

"W-Well, it's not from a lack of trying!" Lucy spluttered. And really, it wasn't. They'd tried everything from waiting until it was two in the morning when Bickslow stayed over and Violet was well and truly asleep, to locking themselves in her tiny bathroom when Violet was watching cartoons or playing with the dogs. They'd even almost done it in the kitchen on the counter once bright and early on a Sunday morning when Violet had still been asleep. But the kid always seemed to show up at the wrong time – or, knock on the bathroom door that wasn't usually locked and ask if Lucy was pooping. And that was an epic turn-off, unsurprisingly. Bickslow had had to cover his mouth with his hand to stop from bursting out laughing.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It… It means we've _tried_ to… You know…"

"Ah, but Vi is being a cockblock, right?"

"Erik! Don't say that!" Lucy hissed. Of all things that he could've called their daughter, that was not one Lucy liked. "But… Yeah, she kind of is…"

Erik snorted. "Of course she is." Kids were annoying like that. "When was the last time you even got laid then?"

Lucy made a face as she counted in her head. "Three… years? Something like that?" she mumbled. She didn't really know, to be honest. It wasn't exactly something she'd ever paid much attention to. She had more important things to think about. Although she could recall the last person she'd slept with having been one of Erza's friends, and it had been a total disaster. Lucy had just been glad it had only been one afternoon.

"Woman, that is depressing as all hell."

"No it's not!"

"It is," Erik insisted. "You need to go and get laid. Like, right fucking now."

"Easier said than done…" she muttered. It wasn't exactly like she could just go out and get laid. She had responsibilities!

"Uh, did you forget the fact you have a boyfriend? Who, I mean, is obviously attracted to you – and if he isn't, well he's a fucking moron." Erik may not be attracted to her, but he still thought she looked good. Even more so, now that she wasn't an awkward eighteen-year-old and was actually comfortable in her own skin, faded stretch marks and all. "Go fuck your boyfriend, Blondie."

Lucy huffed in annoyance and pouted. The fact that he was telling her to go get laid wasn't the issue. It was that he was forgetting one important thing. "And what about Vi, huh?" Lucy pointed out. "I can't exactly just leave her with a sitter so I can go and have sex. That's… That's irresponsible. I'm not doing that."

"See? This is why you need to get laid. You're getting grumpy. Go let off some steam."

"I'm not getting grumpy!"

Erik begged to differ. He knew what Lucy was like when she was grumpy, and she was getting grumpy. Of course though, her grumpiness didn't scare him, so that was why he could shrug and continue, "We've had dinner, so all she needs is to take a bath and then go to bed, right? Strangely enough, I can handle that." He did actually know how to be a parent, despite how little he saw his daughter.

"I know you can…"

"Which means you are free to go over to your boyfriend's house, and fuck him senseless. And if you don't, then I'm going to drive you over there myself and I don't think either of you would want that." That would be ten kinds of awkward. But still, as Lucy's best friend, it was his job to make sure she got laid. "Besides," Erik continued again, taking a sip of his black tea. "You really need a night off. So go take it. We'll be fine for a few hours. I'll tell Vi you just went out for a little while."

Lucy's mouth twisted into a firm line as she considered it. She had no problems leaving Violet with Erik, and she certainly didn't doubt his parenting skills. He'd never actually been a bad parent; he just hadn't been (and still wasn't) able to do it full-time, and Lucy had always been okay with that.

But still… Could she really just leave her daughter for one night, just to go and have sex? Wouldn't that make her a bad parent?

…Of course it wouldn't… Right? She was a great parent, and she knew that. Her life had essentially been put on hold for Violet – not that she would've had it any other way – but now, she had a really good thing going in her life, and Lucy didn't want to lose that. Besides, the fact she was a parent didn't mean she had to go without sex. That was just stupid.

And damn it, she really did need a night off. Lucy couldn't even remember the last time she'd had an entire night off. She didn't even know if she'd had one at all. The most she'd ever had was a few hours, but she'd always been back to tuck Violet in and kiss her goodnight.

Setting her tea down, Lucy got up from the lounge and looked back down to the maroon-haired man while nodding slowly to herself – more to convince herself than anything. "You know what? I think… I think I just might have a night off."

"That's my girl," Erik grinned.

She rolled her eyes as she made her way to the bathroom. She only brushed her teeth and her hair and spritzed a little of her favourite perfume. Her clothes, she didn't think she needed to change – not when they'd hopefully be on the floor somewhere anyway. There was a tiny voice at the back of her head that only wondered if she was really going to do it, but Lucy ignored it as she grabbed her shoes and her bag and returned to the living area. "Are you sure you'll be fine with Vi? I mean, I can—"

"Lucy, I'm telling you, I can handle her," he assured her. "Now go get some dick, and don't even think about coming back until you've had at least three orgasms."

Lucy wasn't going to question it. She knew Erik too well for that. And instead, she nodded, bid the man goodnight, and went to leave the apartment. She'd barely gotten down the end of the hallway before she was turning right back around and walking straight back into the apartment, and Erik only watched with an eyebrow raised as she dropped her bag and made for the hall.

When she came back out again, however, after just a few more moments and in the same leggings and t-shirt as before, Erik couldn't help but snicker into his tea. "You put on your pretty underwear, didn't you?" he mumbled.

"Shut up."

* * *

Lucy woke in an empty bed that wasn't hers, and she couldn't quite help but panic, thinking that she'd overslept horrendously and Bickslow was already up and going about his day. Sitting up and holding the sheet to her chest, she looked around the still dark room. Bickslow was walking back in as soon as she looked to the door, and she couldn't quite keep the smile off her lips.

"Morning," she said tiredly. _Or at least I hope it's still morning…_ Although if Bickslow only being in boxers and climbing back into bed beside her was anything to go by, then it had to be before noon at the very least. "Where'd you disappear to?"

"Just letting the dogs out," Bickslow answered. His arm draped across her middle to slowly pull her back down onto the mattress, and he leant forward to press a gentle kiss to Lucy's lips before adding, "I imagine you'll be having to leave soon."

"What time is it?"

"A little after six."

Lucy let out a quiet sigh. She hadn't meant to stay the entire night, but… Bickslow had convinced her otherwise, and it had already been well past Violet's bed time by the time she'd collapsed down onto the bed utterly exhausted. But if it was six, then Violet would be up soon just like she always was, and Lucy didn't really want to leave Erik trying to come up with an excuse as to why she hadn't returned by morning – he'd had to give an excuse for her disappearing as it was, and honestly, Lucy didn't think she wanted to know just what he'd told their daughter.

"Soon, yeah," she said. "I kind of wish I didn't have to, though…"

"So do I," Bickslow agreed. It wasn't the first time he'd woken up next to her, but it was the first time it had been in his own home and not from a four-and-half year old running in and shouting at them that it was breakfast time. That, and it was the first time he'd gotten to wake up to his girlfriend being naked, and, well… That was just an epic bonus. A really, really great bonus. "But, um… Before you do go…"

"Hm?"

"Can I ask you something? About… About Erik?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow at Bickslow's obvious hesitation, but she shrugged into the pillow as she gave her answer. "Of course you can."

Bickslow was fiddling with the corner of the pillow, twisting it enough that he was almost going to work a hole into it as he nervously began, "I, uh… I know that Vi wasn't exactly planned, but… How long were you and Erik, like… together?" It wasn't a proud moment for him, asking his girlfriend just how long she'd been with the father of her child, but it was a question that had been stuck in his head since the previous afternoon. He was never going to get in the way of things between them, especially between Violet and her dad, but… Damn it, Bickslow just wanted to know what he was competing with.

"We weren't," Lucy answered.

"…But before Vi was born, I mean?"

She shook her head. "We weren't together at all." It was a mix of confusion and relief that set on her boyfriend's face then, and Lucy couldn't help but let out a quiet giggle. He was jealous of Erik, and Lucy only thought it was rather adorable. But, Lucy didn't have any secrets to keep from Bickslow, not ones that had anything to do with Erik. "I've known him since high school, and he's been my best friend ever since. We slept together once in college. We had way too much to drink after exams, and that's really all there is to it. You don't have anything to worry about, Bix. I promise you that."

"I… I wasn't worried…" he mumbled.

"You so were."

"…Okay, maybe just a little bit," Bickslow admitted guiltily. Lucy laughing at him and worming herself under his arm again to snuggle up to his chest made him feel less guilty, but still. He felt an apology was in order, even if he was now rather glad he'd asked at all. "But you and Vi are just… I love you both to pieces and I feel so damn lucky to have you in my life at all… And—"

"Bickslow."

"—then I see how excited you are just to be able to see him, and..." He found himself trailing off when a finger was placed over his lips and he was forced to lift his eyes and meet Lucy's gaze.

"Bickslow, just be quiet for a few seconds, okay?" she said with a soft smile gracing her lips. Bickslow nodded, and she removed her finger to let her hand rest on his cheek instead. She could feel her heart fluttering in her chest, and her stomach doing some kind of gymnastics routine, but it was a very welcome feeling at that moment. "You said you love me," she whispered with her smile growing wider. "Well, Violet too, but… You said you love me."

He shifted almost uncomfortably and felt an unwelcome heat amass on his cheeks. Bickslow knew he'd said it. He'd wanted to say it for months, too – since the first sleepover on Lucy's living room floor, when he'd known for sure that he was so completely head over heels for them both – but Bickslow had been scared of saying it too soon and scaring her. He'd just wanted to prove to Lucy that she'd made the right decision (as far as he was concerned, at least) of letting him into their lives. And, well… Bickslow thought he had proved that by now. There was no point in denying it or keeping it to himself anymore.

"Well, yeah…" he murmured.

"So you meant it?"

"Of course I did. I meant every word."

 _He loves me. He really loves me._ Lucy couldn't stop herself from leaning in and pressing her lips to Bickslow's. His hand found her waist while she was rolled onto her back gently, and their legs became tangled with each other and the sheets as their lips slowly moved together.

She'd never expected so few words to mean so much to her, but there she was. Bickslow was someone she could genuinely trust though, that was something Lucy was now sure of. He wasn't going to hurt her, and he wasn't going to hurt Violet. He cared – he genuinely and truly cared about her and her daughter and Lucy knew that. And while Bickslow said he felt lucky to have them in his life, Lucy sure as hell felt like _she_ was the lucky one. Bickslow was like a rare gem, a one in a million, and Lucy was absolutely and completely head over heels for him, too.

That much, she was now sure of.

By the time Lucy did get home though, a little closer to 8 a.m., Violet was well and truly up and plastered to the front of the T.V. with her scrambled eggs on toast, while Erik sat behind her sipping on his breakfast tea. Violet was far more excited to see Lucy than Erik was (not that he wasn't at all, because he definitely was), and as soon as Lucy was in the door, Violet was hopping up from her cushion and running up to her mother to give her a big hug.

"Mummy! Mummy! I missed you!"

"I missed you too, sweetheart," Lucy said. She ducked down to kiss the top of her daughter's head once she'd been freed from the girl's hug. Had Erik not put on _101 Dalmatians_ for her, Lucy was sure Violet would be asking all kinds of questions about just where she'd been all night. But for the time being, spotty puppies were more important so Lucy didn't take it personally when Violet quickly returned to her breakfast and movie.

With a sigh though, Lucy sat down on the sofa, right next to Erik, and he couldn't help but snicker as he set the magazine he'd found aside to turn and ask suggestively, "So? How many?"

Lucy knew exactly what he was asking, of course. "In total or just this morning?"

Erik's only response was lifting his arm from the back of the lounge to give the woman a well deserved high-five.

* * *

The final boarding announcement was heard and Lucy looked over her shoulder to see the last of the people waiting in that lounge passing through the boarding gates. She sighed when she turned back to Bickslow and Violet, nervously twisting the handle of her carry-on bag. "I guess I should go then…" she mumbled.

"You'll miss your flight if you don't," Bickslow pointed out.

"True…" Lucy sighed. Missing her flight was the last thing she wanted, especially since it wasn't one she was paying for herself. It was just that she was so nervous about leaving, regardless of the fact that it was only going to be four days. Lucy had never gone more than one night away from Violet (and that one night had been with Bickslow of all people, unsurprisingly), so she was naturally scared of getting on a plane to head across the country for a few days. She cast another worried glance over her shoulder before she crouched down in front of Violet, reaching forward to hold her little face between her hands. "Are you sure you'll be okay while I'm gone? I can stay if you want me to. It's okay."

Violet shook her head. "Nope! You go!"

"Are you sure, Vi? Are you really, _really_ s—" Lucy was cut off by Violet placing her palm over her lips. All Lucy could do was blink, staring wide-eyed at her nearly five-year-old daughter.

"I sure," Violet said softly. "You can go, Mummy."

Lucy sniffled, nodding to herself and then pulling her daughter into a tight hug. "When did my baby grow up and become so independent?" Lucy was realising that _she_ was the one that was getting all the separation anxiety, not Violet! Still, if Violet said she was going to be okay for a few days, then Lucy was going to believe her. Standing and just letting her hand rest on top of Violet's head when she began to hug her waist instead, Lucy looked to Bickslow and asked, "What about you? Are you sure you're okay with this?"

"I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't okay with it," Bickslow smiled. He had absolutely zero problems with looking after Violet for a few days. Hell, he'd strangely been looking forward to it all week. Besides, he was the one to have convinced Lucy to take the trip anyway, just like he'd convinced her to take the promotion that went along with it. She'd deserved it. "I'll be fine. So will Vi." He leant in to quickly press a kiss to her lips, then said, "Now go get on that plane before it leaves without you."

"Right, okay, I'm going!" She couldn't help herself from standing on her toes to quickly kiss her boyfriend back, quickly saying, "I'll text you when I land, okay? I love you!"

"Mm-hmm, love you too."

Lucy crouched down in front of Violet again to pull her back into her arms. "Oh, I'm going to miss you so much!" she said, squeezing the girl tightly and tucking her head under her chin. "Now, you be good for Bix, okay? Don't get into too much trouble. We want him to like us, remember?"

Violet giggled, nodding her head. "Yes, Mummy."

Lucy sighed. She was absolutely fine with leaving Violet with Bickslow for a few days. Violet was absolutely fine with staying with Bickslow. Bickslow was absolutely fine looking after Violet. Everything and everyone was fine. Lucy knew that. So, she really had no reason to just get on that plane that was about to leave behind her. And sure, two of those days in the capital involved a training conference of sorts, but the other two involved visiting one of the country's most renowned spas and Lucy was definitely looking forward to being pampered. Especially since it was at her company's expense – their way of saying thank you for all of her work over the last four years she'd worked there.

With another sigh, Lucy quickly kissed her daughter's cheeks and then her forehead before giving her another quick squeeze and rising to her feet. "Well, I really will miss my plane if I don't get a move on at this rate…" she mumbled before looking down to Violet once more. "But I'll be back just in time for your birthday, okay, sweetie? And I'll call you every night before bed and—"

 _"Final call for boarding, final call for boarding for last remaining passengers. Last remaining passengers on Ishgar United Airlines, flight IR702 bound for Crocus, please board the aircraft now…"_

"Okay, I get it, I'm coming! Jeez…" Lucy was surprised they hadn't called her by name; surely she was the only one not on the plane already. Securing her purse over her shoulder, Lucy turned on her heels and began to finally head for the boarding gate, all while waving behind her to her favourite humans (well, two of them at least). "I'll see you in a few days! I'll miss you guys!"

"Bye, Mummy!" Violet waved back.

Bickslow stood by, silently watching as Lucy finally made it through the boarding gate and past a very relieved flight attendant. And as soon as Lucy was out of sight, he looked down just in time to see Violet's face fall slightly. She'd miss Lucy, he knew that. As grown-up as she tried to be sometimes (she'd been reminding everyone she saw that she was turning _five_ in just a few more days!), she'd still never been away from Lucy for very long. But of course, Bickslow had expected all of that, and he was definitely going to do his best to take care of her and make the next four days and three nights fly by.

"You wanna stay for a bit watch her plane take off?" Bickslow asked softly, and Violet could only nod as Bickslow reached down to take her hand and then walk her over to the lounge with the tall windows.

He was supposed to be dropping her off at school right then, but surely there was no harm in staying for a few extra minutes.

* * *

Two o'clock came around, and when Bickslow made no effort to move from his desk or stop what he was doing, Freed, Evergreen, and Laxus all shared looks of concern. He was supposed to be picking up Violet from pre-school, and considering it was almost all the way across town and the traffic at that hour was always horrendous, Bickslow really should've left by then.

Freed decided it was about time he tried to get the man's attention. Clearing his throat, he called his name. "Bickslow."

He had headphones on, and when he was really into his work, chewing on the end of his red pen as he sat back in his chair with a manuscript on his lap, he was off in his own little world.

So when Freed's attempt to get Bickslow's attention ended up being in vain, Evergreen tried next, taking a sticky-note, crumpling it up in her hands and then tossing it over the short cubicle. "Oi, Bickslow!" Not even that seemed to get his attention, even when the sticky-note flew right past his head and landed just behind his chair. Evergreen slumped in her chair in defeat, crossing her arms against her chest and muttering under her breath, "Oblivious fool." Honestly, she didn't know how he could be so out-of-it sometimes.

So, it came down to Laxus to get his attention. And with a roll of his eyes, Laxus only slid out from his desk on his chair, and then kicked the side of Bickslow's to have him startled back to reality. "It's two o'clock, idiot," Laxus muttered before Bickslow could yell at him.

"What? No it's not," Bickslow snapped, pulling the earbuds out to glare at his co-worker. "What the hell are you talking about?" Last he'd checked, it had only been a quarter past twelve. There was no way it could be two already.

"He's right, Bickslow," Freed said.

"No, it can't be." Bickslow shook his head and made a face. He scooted his chair forward to return to his desk, setting the manuscript and his editing pen aside so he could open up his laptop and check the time. "See? I told you. It's… fuck! Why did no one tell me it was already two?! God damn it… Shit, Lucy is going to _murder_ me." Day one of looking after her kid, and he's already late to picking her up from preschool.

He didn't stick around long enough to hear them all say that it was up to him to manage his time and that they had, in fact, tried getting his attention beforehand to no avail. With just his keys and his wallet, Bickslow ran out of his building as fast as he could to go jump in the car. It was a twenty minute drive to Violet's school, and that was when the traffic was on his side. The traffic in that city was the sole reason he used public transport so often every other day.

At half passed, Bickslow was running into Violet's classroom, only stopping at the door to hunch over as he caught his breath – not even constantly chasing after three chaotic canines could keep him fit, it seemed. The run from his car to the courtyard next to the classroom had definitely done a number on him, and it really wasn't far at all.

"Bickso!" Violet jumped up from where she sat at one of the groups of tables with a maths colouring sheet, and ran over to Bickslow to wrap her arms around his hips and hug his side.

"Hey, monkey." He smiled down at her as he regained his breath, reaching down to gently stroke the back of her head as she seemingly refused to let go of him. He was mostly used to that, though. "Sorry I'm late. I, uh… I got stuck in traffic," he lied.

"It's okay. Mummy forgets sometimes too," Violet giggled. She lifted her head to peer up at Bickslow just to see him cringe. Bickslow had only known her for the last six months, but somehow Violet had already figured him out completely and managed to get him wrapped around her little finger. And for the most part, Bickslow had no idea how it had happened.

Violet eventually let go of him to return to the table and put her crayons back in the tub in the centre – her teacher always said she was one of her favourites because she cleaned up after herself. Bickslow followed her after giving a simple wave to the teacher with another student (Lucy had made sure to introduce them a few days prior, just so the school didn't end up calling the cops on him or anything), picking up her backpack from the hook labelled ' _Violet'_ and swinging the strap over his shoulder. "So… You're not mad at me for being late, are you?" he asked carefully.

Violet shook her head as she got up again, waving to her teacher as she grabbed Bickslow's hand to drag him out of the classroom. "Bye, Miss Graham!" she said happily before looking up to Bickslow and giving him a bright smile. "Not mad."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Uh-huh!" Violet didn't think she had any reason to be mad at Bickslow. Lucy was late every now and then, and that was fine. She always got ice-cream and cheeseburgers after school when Lucy was late, though, and that was always great. But that did remind her… "Can we go get ice-cream, Bickso?" Violet asked sweetly.

It was Bickslow's turn to see right through Violet then. "Are you trying to blackmail me?"

"…Maybe." She knew what blackmail meant from Gajeel.

And if ice-cream was going to stop him from getting in trouble with Lucy, then ice-cream it was. Besides, he couldn't say no to Violet when she gave him that sweet and innocent smile, even if it was just a façade. "Then yes, we can go get ice-cream," he sighed. "But only after we stop by my work for a few minutes so we can go see Laxus and Freed and Ever." He needed his phone, and Violet liked those three anyway. Bickslow knew it.


	3. Chapter 3

Bickslow got woken up bright and early on Saturday morning to Violet running into the room and jumping up onto the bed. "Bickso! Bickso! Wake up!"

He did so slowly, groaning and bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes. He was used to waking up early to let his dogs out, but… He didn't have any dogs to let out that morning. "Mm, I'm up… I'm up…" he mumbled, slowly pulling himself out of bed. A quick glance to his phone on the bedside table told him that it had just gone six o'clock, and he couldn't help but groan again. Why were kids always up so goddamn early on the weekend?

"Can we go see the dogs?" Violet asked.

"Hm? The dogs?" Bickslow rubbed at his face again before looking to Violet kneeling beside him. She nodded quickly and Bickslow sighed. "How about breakfast first, huh? Then we can go see the dogs." He had to go over there anyway just because he needed to feed them and check up on them.

"Okay!"

Violet climbed off the bed once Bickslow managed to finally get up, and the girl didn't waste any time in running around to intercept him on his way out of the room, just to grab his hand and pull him out to the kitchen. "Okay, okay… I'm coming…" he groaned. For the life of him, Bickslow couldn't ever remember seeing Violet with so much energy. He only wondered if this was what she was like every Saturday morning when he didn't stay over. Once they reached the kitchen, Bickslow only sighed and opened the fridge to see what was available for him to use – which, was a lot, because Lucy had made sure to stock the fridge and the cupboards with practically everything she'd been able to think of. "Alright, what do you feel like for breakfast?"

"Um… Pancakes!" Violet answered.

"Pancakes?" Bickslow began pulling out the milk, butter, and eggs to place them on the counter behind him. "But what _kind_ of pancakes? There's more than one kind of pancake, Vi."

"Oh. Um…"

"You can have strawberry pancakes, blueberry pancakes, or banana pancakes… There's apple pancakes, and chocolate pancakes… Or you can have chocolate chip—"

"Chocolate chip! Chocolate chip!" Violet bounced up and down excitedly.

Bickslow nodded. "Good choice, Monkey." Chocolate chip pancakes were the best, although he did have a fondness for apple ones, too. But, Bickslow didn't often cook pancakes. His breakfast those days usually just consisted of coffee and something from a bakery on his way to work. "Now, how about you find the chocolate chips for me while I start getting the batter ready?"

Violet was all too happy to go in search for the chocolate chips, and while she opened up the pantry to find them, Bickslow just found the frypan to begin heating it up on the stove. He melted the butter in the microwave, and by the time Violet had returned with the bag of chocolate chips held out triumphantly above her head, the batter was just about ready to have them added.

"These ones?" Violet asked.

Bickslow looked down at the purple bag she held and he nodded. "Yup, those are the ones!" he said. He set the whisk down after mixing in the rest of the sugar, and then he turned back to Violet trying to peek over the edge of the counter in the bowl. "You wanna put the chocolate chips in?" he asked, and Violet nodded. "Alright, come on then." He stepped back from the counter then just to reach down and pick Violet up, setting her down on the counter next to the bowl so she could actually reach without spilling too many (he expected some chocolate chips to go elsewhere, just because she was five and five-year-olds were messy). He cut open the purple bag with a knife then, and then handed the bag back to Violet so she could pour them into the bowl. "Now, you won't want to add too many—yep, just add the whole bag. That works too."

"Chocolate chips are yummy," Violet giggled, and Bickslow could only sigh and shake his head. He wasn't even going to think of disagreeing with her.

* * *

After having Violet beg him for hours to take the dogs for a walk to the park, Bickslow finally caved and took the dogs for a walk to the park. He'd been planning on doing so at some point in the afternoon. He'd mostly just been waiting for the weather to clear up a little – they'd forecast rain in the afternoon, and Bickslow really hadn't wanted to take his dogs or Violet outside if there'd been a chance of getting absolutely drenched.

When the sun came out from behind the clouds though, he finally gathered up the dogs and the girl and they went for a walk. Bickslow even let Violet walk his beagle, Benji, at one point. Although really, it had ended up being more of a case of Benji walking _Violet_ , but it wasn't like Violet really minded. Hell, she'd fucking loved it.

They'd only gone to the park near Bickslow's house, just a few blocks away. There was an oval there for the dogs to run around on, and even a small playground for Violet to play on. For the most part, Violet hadn't cared to go on the playground, even when Bickslow had asked if she wanted to. She'd been more interested in throwing the tennis ball for the dogs to chase after, so Bickslow had merely stood back and let her have her fun. At one point though, she did end up slipping and falling on the wet grass, but that had been okay, even when Bickslow had needed to drag his dogs off her so they would stop licking her face and let her actually get up.

After a little while though, the dogs got a little tired so Bickslow only decided to put them all back on their leads and take them over to one of the benches to let them rest for a little bit before he walked them all back home. Violet climbed up onto the bench next to him, sitting on the edge so she could still pat Pip's fluffy golden ears.

"Why don't you go play for a little bit?" Bickslow suggested, nodding towards the playground just on the opposite side of the wide path. Kids were supposed to play, weren't they?

Violet hesitated for a moment, looking between the dogs and the other children playing happily on the swings and the slides, before hopping down from the bench and slowly making her way to the playground. Bickslow watched her carefully, just out of fear of losing her if she randomly decided to walk off somewhere – he knew she wouldn't, but he was responsible for her so he still worried anyway. She went on the jungle gym first, playing on the rope bridge and the giant tic-tac-toe rollers for a moment. Bickslow couldn't help but chuckle quietly to himself and praise the fact that Lucy had raised a child with a brain when he watched Violet head for the yellow slide next, but change her mind on going down it when she realised it was still wet from the rain earlier in the day.

"She yours?"

He turned at the voice to find the woman on the bench next to him smiling towards him. "Excuse me?" Bickslow asked politely.

The woman nodded towards Violet. "The girl," she laughed. "I saw you sit down with her. How old's your daughter?"

"Oh! Uh…" It was, of course, the first time that anyone had assumed he was Violet's father. He felt his face heat up slightly, mostly out of embarrassment over the fact that he was going to have to correct the woman next to her, but partly because he actually kind of loved that she'd assumed he was Violet's dad. He reached down to rub Inky's belly when he rolled over on the pavement, smiling nervously as he corrected the woman next to him, "She's five"—well, in like three more days she was—"but she's not mine. She's my girlfriend's kid."

"Oh, I see! Well… That one's mine." Bickslow looked up to where the woman was pointing. She pointed to a boy that looked to be Violet's age, stomping on a sandcastle before he sat himself down and picked up a handful of the sand to shove into his mouth. "He's… smarter than he looks," the woman sighed.

"Hey, it's only sand. He'll be onto dirt next."

She let out another sigh before she got up from where she sat, bidding goodbye to Bickslow before she went to collect her sand-covered child. Bickslow could only be glad that Violet wasn't eating any sand – or, well, he hoped she wasn't. What Violet was doing, though, was sitting on the edge of the merry-go-round by herself, digging her feet into the sand as she spun herself around slowly.

Bickslow frowned. There were so many other kids there, yet she was sitting by herself. That really just hurt to see. _Come on, Vi. Go talk to someone._ She was supposed to be having fun, not sitting there by herself looking completely miserable. He saw two other girls head towards the merry-go-round, and he felt his heart soar when Violet looked up with a smile. The other girls climbed onto the merry-go-round, and for a moment, all three of them were spinning around on it happily, trying to hold onto the metal bars and not lose their grip on the slippery metal.

But then they stopped. The girls went off to the swings, laughing and shouting at each other, and Violet's face fell once more. Bickslow knew that Violet wasn't that great with other kids. Adults were fine, but not so much people her own age. She was so horribly shy when it came to talking to anyone her age that the school had called Lucy in more than once to talk about getting Violet into some after-school programs to try and make friends. Bickslow had never really seen it before though. Violet had always been so excited and happy whenever he'd seen her, so he'd had a hard time believing that she was shy and reserved around almost everyone else. But Bickslow could see it then, and honestly, he hated it.

It had really only been a few minutes, but Bickslow didn't want to see Violet be uncomfortable anymore. He got up from the bench with his own dismal sigh, and took the dogs over to the other side of the playground to go and get Violet, holding his hand out for her to take. "Vi, come on. Let's go home." And when Violet was all too happy to run over to him and the dogs, it just made his heart break even more.

She may not be _his_ daughter, but he still cared about her as if she was his own.

* * *

After sending a quick message to Lucy in the afternoon to ask if it was okay, Bickslow finished tucking Violet in and then climbed up to sit next to her on top of the duvet. "Alright… Story time, Monkey."

They were staying at his house that night. Bickslow had originally been against it, but Violet had been asking him all afternoon after they'd gotten home from the park, and Bickslow just hadn't been able to say no – not really, at least. Lucy had said it was fine though, so Bickslow had just caved and let it happen.

It had been a little frustrating, though. He'd ended up having to go back to Lucy's apartment anyway, just to give Violet her bath and get her some clothes for the night, as well as for the morning and some other things to keep her occupied at his house, but Bickslow had considered it worth it just because Violet was happy, and keeping her happy was a must considering it was the first time she'd been away from Lucy for more than a single night and Bickslow knew that she missed her.

But, it was just a little past seven forty-five. Violet usually went to bed closer to seven, but with all the running around to get everything she needed, they were running a little late. It was fine though.

Violet tucked herself under Bickslow's arm as he opened up the book he'd picked up from Lucy's. The dogs were all curled up on the bed around her, and she held back a yawn as Bickslow began to read through the rhyming story.

"… _And then I'll look at you, and you'll look at me, and I'll love you, whoever you've grown up to be."_

As he read the last line, Bickslow closed the book and looked back down to the girl tucked under his arm. She was already asleep, and he couldn't help but smile to himself. It wasn't the first time he'd read Violet her bedtime story – he'd read that particular book, _The Wonderful Things You Will Be_ , more than once – so he knew that she always managed to fall asleep by the time he was finished. He still found it adorable though.

The dogs were resting peacefully as well, so Bickslow stretched to put the book on the nightstand, trying to move as little as possible. He had a fuck load of work to do, but for a little while, Bickslow just wanted to sit there and enjoy the peace.

He felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket and he struggled to pull it out without disturbing Violet much. He saw Lucy's name pop up on the screen and Bickslow glanced back down to Violet before he answered and brought the phone up to his ear. "Shhh, hold on for a minute," Bickslow whispered. He could just make out Lucy mumbling a cautious ' _okay?'_ before he brought his phone back down, and then went about carefully separating himself from the girl using him as a pillow, and climbing off the bed. The dogs stayed put, only stretching themselves out now that they didn't have a six-foot-four body taking up all the room, and Bickslow quietly crept out of the room after switching off the lights, leaving the door ajar. "Sorry," he said softly once he was back in the hall and heading for his kitchen. "I was just putting Vi to bed and she'd just gone to sleep. Didn't want to wake her."

"Oh. I see. Did you have any trouble?" Lucy asked. She knew Violet could be a pain to get to sleep sometimes. She could be so stubborn when she wanted to be.

"Getting her to bed? Nah. She was tuckered out anyway," Bickslow said, leaning against the kitchen counter as he pressed the button on the top of the kettle and waited for it to start boiling. "Got her into bed, read her a little something, and she was asleep by the end."

"Well, I'm glad."

"Anyway. What are you up to now? It's, what, eleven o'clock there?"

Lucy let out a little sigh. "Yeah, a few minutes past now I think," she said. "I'm just getting back to my hotel though. I got dragged out to a bar with some other people I met at the conference after it ended for the day. God, it was just so noisy there. All I wanted was to be back in bed where it was warm."

Bickslow chuckled as he poured the hot water into the mug, dissolving the fine coffee granules at the bottom. "Sounds like you had a busy night then. Why don't you get into bed and get warm then?"

"I will in a minute. I'm waiting for my burrito to reheat in the microwave."

"Please don't tell me you bought it from the gas station."

"It was the only thing open! And the food at the bar just looked horrendous…"

Bickslow chuckled again, rolling his eyes that time. "Well, I hope you enjoy your crappy gas station burrito that will make you sick for the rest of the night."

"I will, thank you very much," Lucy responded. Although really, she knew it'd probably end up making her sick, but she'd survive. Probably. She just wanted something warm and filling to eat. Thankfully, the microwave beeped and she got up from where she'd been sitting on the edge of the bed and taking off her shoes, to go and collect her food. "Speaking of food though… What'd you give Vi tonight? Please don't say it was another cheeseburger and fries."

"Dinosaur shaped nuggets and vegetables. She rather enjoyed it, too."

Lucy dropped her burrito down onto the small table in the room and sat herself down again. She could visibly see the steam rising from it, so she decided it would be best to leave it for a few moments before trying to lift it from the paper plate. "Well, at least you gave her vegetables…" she mumbled. "What about you, though? I'm assuming _you_ didn't eat dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets."

"Um, yes, of course I did."

"Bix…"

"What's wrong with dinosaur nuggets? They taste better than normal chicken nuggets, you know," Bickslow pointed out. "Besides, they're cheaper than normal nuggets most of the time anyway."

"I guess you have a point…" Although really, a grown man eating dinosaur shaped food? That was just weird. Then again, Lucy was guilty of doing so herself. There was really no point in cooking different food. Finally lifting her greasy burrito up from the plate, Lucy blew on it softly before putting Bickslow on speaker so she could eat and talk at the same time. "What did you two get up to today though?"

Bickslow was just sitting down at his desk in the living room then, setting his black coffee aside and out of the way so he didn't knock it over and spill it all over the floor or even the manuscripts piled on his desk. He'd gotten a little behind with his work from the day before, and all the reading and marking-up he had ahead of him that night and the following night was just a little daunting. The only upside was that he was working with an author whose work Bickslow had loved for years, so editing his work was always a blast compared to some others.

But, while his night was undoubtedly going to be busy – he knew he wouldn't be making it to bed before midnight – his day had been rather pleasant, and that was what Lucy was asking about. Taking a small sip of his coffee and burning his tongue in the process, Bickslow sighed and said, "Nothing much, I suppose. She wanted to see the dogs after breakfast so we came here this morning, and then we just watched cartoons and played a few games indoors while waiting for the weather to clear up a bit."

"Did you go anywhere?"

"Yep. Took the dogs to the park this afternoon for a little bit. Vi kept begging me to go, of course…"

"Oh, duh," Lucy agreed, laughing around a full mouth.

"But, uh…" Bickslow hesitated then. Lucy sensed it, but decided it was better to wait and let Bickslow continue when he was ready. And, glancing back up to where the mouth of the hall was just opposite where his desk was in the living room, Bickslow finally continued, "We stopped at the playground for a bit as well, and Vi just…"

"She did that thing where she just kind of keeps to herself and looks miserable?" Lucy guessed.

Bickslow sighed. "Yeah. Is she always like that? I didn't… I didn't think it was that bad, but I guess I've never really seen her around other kids… God, I feel awful for telling her to go play while I let the dogs rest. I just didn't know."

"Don't feel bad," Lucy said. "Like you said, you didn't know." Lucy herself was guilty of trying to get her daughter to play with other kids her own age at the park sometimes, too. She'd just been waiting for the day where Violet actually went up to another child and got along with them, even if it was just for a few moments. "But yeah… That's basically how it goes."

"It really worries me. Is that weird?"

Lucy smiled softly to herself. "I don't think it's weird." It meant Bickslow cared, and she loved that. "Anyway, I'm just hoping she'll get a little better once she starts kindergarten next summer… If not, well… I should be able to afford putting her in some kind of after-school activity now," Lucy mused. "Although I don't really know what she'd even be able to do. I guess she could take ballet lessons or something… Then again, she's not the most coordinated so that would probably be a terrible idea anyway."

Bickslow tried not to laugh. Violet doing ballet? Yeah, it wouldn't happen. "Hopefully she gets better then," he sighed. "I'd hate to see her grow up like that."

"Me too." That was one of her worst nightmares. For the time being though, Lucy was just trying to do her best to give Violet space to grow. "Anyway! What are you up to for the rest of the night, now that Vi's asleep?"

"Work. _So. Much. Work_ ," Bickslow groaned.

"Long night ahead?"

"If I'm done by midnight, I'll consider it a miracle."

"Well, don't push yourself too hard. I know you have deadlines, but still. You need to try and get some sleep," Lucy said. "You know Vi gets up early."

Bickslow groaned into his palm that time. "She got up at like six this morning. Who the hell gets up at six on a Saturday?!"

"Small children do," she giggled. "Just wait until Christmas. She's up before the sun comes up then."

"Oh god… Please don't tell me that."

"Sorry."

He dropped his head to his desk. Thankfully, the stack of paper in front of him softened the blow. Considering Lucy had already invited him over for Christmas (and, of course, he'd accepted because he didn't really have anywhere else to be anyway), Bickslow was realising he should've at least remembered that kids were always excited on Christmas morning. It was some kind of rite of passage to wake up before the crack of dawn to open presents. But, it had been close to two decades since Bickslow had last felt the need to do that himself, so he'd definitely forgotten what it was like to be up that early all for the sake of presents.

But, as much as he was going to hate getting up early, he was looking forward to spending the holidays with Lucy and Violet. He knew Erik would be around for Christmas as well – although he apparently couldn't make it to Violet's birthday that year, in just a few days. Lucy hadn't managed to tell Violet that yet, just because she hadn't been able to bring herself to. That just meant Bickslow had to do his best to keep a straight face when Violet started talking about her birthday again, and telling her that he'd finally be able to meet her dad and that they were going to be the best of friends (although Bickslow was doubtful of the latter). Still, Christmas was going to good, and Bickslow was definitely looking forward to seeing Violet open all of her presents.

Letting out a sigh, Lucy said then, "Well, I honestly just want to sleep. I already feel sick and I've only had a few bites of this stupid thing." It tasted good, sure, but her stomach disagreed. "I guess I'll just let you get on with your work then."

"Yeah, okay," Bickslow said. He kind of wished he could speak to Lucy for a little longer, but he really did have a lot of work to do, and after spending nearly two full days at a work event, he really didn't blame Lucy for just wanting to sleep. "Get some rest. I'll call you tomorrow so Vi can talk to you."

"That sounds good. Night then, Bix," she hummed. "I love you."

"Love you, too."

Setting his phone down out of the way, Bickslow only sat quietly for a moment, taking another sip of his coffee, before grabbing a trusty pen and getting to work.

He was just sitting down with his second cup of coffee when he heard quiet footsteps patter softly in the hall. He looked up just to see Violet sleepily heading for where the light was, carrying her penguin plushy (the one named _Royo_ , as Bickslow had come to learn) by the flipper. It was a ratty old thing, but Violet loved it all the same. Laxus had supposedly given it to her when she'd been born, according to Lucy.

"Vi? What are you doing up?" Bickslow asked softly. It was nearly eleven, judging by the time on his phone. Violet should be well and truly asleep by then. He swivelled in his chair as she walked around the side of his desk, and helped her climb up onto his lap. "Bad dream?" he asked then. Violet shook her head. "Just can't sleep?" She nodded, and Bickslow let out a quiet sigh. "Well, that's okay then." It was hard to get to sleep in a different bed sometimes.

He let Violet stay out there with him for a little while, just because he didn't think it had been worth trying to get her to go back to bed straight away. He'd still had work to do though, and that had proved to be just a little difficult with a five-year-old on his lap, but he'd managed. Bickslow had even needed to explain what his job was at some point when Violet had asked what he was doing – and short answer, he made stories better. That had been good enough for her.

Before long though, Violet managed to fall back asleep. Bickslow hadn't wanted to move her for a while, so he'd just left her and stopped work for a little while, just so he could sit quietly. But after a while, he managed to carefully move her over to the lounge, letting her rest on one of the small pillows and letting a blanket fall over her.

One by one, the dogs all came out and collapsed down in front of the lounge, and slept there for the rest of the night.

* * *

Lucy decided to cut her trip a little short and arrive home a few hours earlier. Her plane had originally been due in at a little past midnight, but Lucy just hadn't really wanted to stick around any longer than necessary. She'd had her time away, both for work and just to unwind a little, but Lucy had just wanted to be at home.

She hadn't told Bickslow that she'd changed her flight. She'd wanted to surprise him (and Violet, of course).

When she got back to her apartment at a quarter to seven, she half expected it to be in shambles. She'd expected it to be something close to a riot, too, but when she opened the door, lugging her suitcase in with her, it was quiet. So quiet that Lucy almost wondered if Bickslow had taken Violet back to his house after picking her up from school. It wouldn't have surprised her if that was the case. Violet liked to see the dogs whenever she could.

"Hello…?" she called into the too quiet apartment. A groan was heard then, and Lucy turned to face her small living room off to one side just to find the two people she'd been looking for, slowly waking from their apparent nap.

Violet sat up slightly, rubbing her eyes before she set her sights on her mother leaving her suitcase behind. Her face lit up instantly with a bright smile, and she quickly clambered off her human pillow to hug Lucy. Bickslow only groaned again as he struggled to sit up – a five-year-old jamming her knee into his stomach was not nice.

"Mummy!" Lucy crouched down just as Violet reached her, quickly wrapping her arms around her daughter to give her a tight hug. "I missed you," Violet said.

"I missed you too, sweetheart," Lucy said, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and reminding herself not to go _too_ overboard. Seriously though, three-and-a-half days without Violet had been more difficult than she'd expected. The only reason she hadn't been panicking or worrying the entire time was because she'd known her daughter had been in capable hands. Leaning back just enough to hold her daughter's face between her hands, Lucy's mouth twisted into a firm line before she asked, "Have you been playing with glitter again?" Tiny specs of pink, green, and silver glitter were on Violet's forehead, in her hair, and even on her nose. Lucy was sure her hands would be covered in it, too.

"No…"

"My fault," Bickslow mumbled from the lounge. He was sitting up now, making a face as he seemed to pull a piece of glitter from his tongue. "I forgot glitter was the devil of craft supplies." He'd really just been trying to keep Violet occupied instead of just letting her sit down in front of the T.V. and watch cartoons. In his mind, doing a little craft project with her had been a great idea.

Well, until he'd knocked over a jar of glitter and it had gone everywhere. The newspaper laid out on the coffee table had done nothing to stop the spilled glitter from getting in the carpet, in his clothes and hair, or on the couch cushions. Lucy's vacuum was now full of rainbow glitter.

Lucy rolled her eyes. It had to be some kind of rite of passage for every parent to learn how horrible glitter was. Lucy had learnt that when Violet had been three. Erik had seemingly learnt when Violet had taken one of his shirts and drawn with glitter-glue all over it (he still had the shirt, as far as Lucy knew). And now Bickslow had learnt, too. Lucy couldn't even be mad, even if she knew she'd be finding glitter everywhere for the next six months. The mess of paper, wood glue, popsicle sticks, and various glitters on the coffee table suddenly made sense, though.

"Well, I guess that's okay then." Lucy gave Violet a smile as she looked back down to her daughter, and she refrained from frowning when she picked a piece of glitter from Violet's eyebrow. "Now, have you eaten dinner yet? Or were you too busy making"—she looked closer to what was sitting on the table—"popsicle stick ornaments for the Christmas tree?"

Violet shook her head. "Not yet. But I'm hungry!"

"Right. Well, how about we all go out to get something to eat then? Will that work?"

"Oooh! Cheeseburgers? Please, Mummy?"

"If that's what you want, sure," Lucy laughed. She looked to Bickslow then. "What about you, Bix? That suit you?" She wouldn't have blamed him if he'd said he wanted to just go home and try and get the glitter out of his hair – the tiny flecks of purple and silver looked _so_ good though. He'd spent the better part of four days with Violet, and he wasn't even her parent. He had to get sick of her at some point.

Bickslow only nodded and gave a small smile. "Sounds good to me." He'd given the dogs plenty of food that morning, right after he'd dropped Violet off at school. He knew they'd be fine for a couple more hours. "Just let me go get the rest of this glitter out of my mouth…"

He wasn't even sure how it had happened, but it wasn't pleasant.

* * *

Christmas morning came around, and by the time it was 7:30 a.m., Bickslow was already feeling dead on his feet and in desperate need of coffee. So much coffee. He'd been up late helping Lucy finish wrapping the last of Violet's presents (and helping her eat all of the cookies), and after just a few hours of sleep, Violet had come running in at a half past five shouting about Santa.

Granted, Bickslow had really enjoyed getting to watch Violet open all of her presents. All but one of the presents he'd gotten for her had been labelled as being from Santa. The only one that hadn't been labelled as from the fat man in the red suit, had been the robotic toy dog he'd bought three months earlier. It was fluffy and it was white and it was going to drive Lucy insane, so it had been perfect.

He'd even gotten a few presents himself, much to his surprise, including a horribly offensive and inappropriate coffee mug that pointed out all the correct usages of ' _their_ ', ' _they're_ ', ' _there'_ and similar such words (since Lucy had definitely heard her fair share of complaints about future-authors who still don't know the difference between ' _your'_ and ' _you're'_ ), and then a handmade picture frame that Lucy had helped Violet make. Apparently he'd needed a picture of Violet in a popsicle stick, felt, and glitter picture frame on his desk.

After presents though, breakfast and coffee had been in order. Lucy had needed to pry the robotic dog away from Violet just so she would sit down at the table and eat her breakfast.

When there came a knock at the door, just as Bickslow finally got his coffee, Violet jumped up before Lucy could turn away from the stove. "Daddy's here!" Violet shouted as she ran off to the door, and Lucy could only sigh and turn off the hotplate to finish dishing up the last plate and then the leftovers.

And indeed, it had been Erik standing just on the other side of the door. "Hey, kiddo, Erik said as soon as he looked down to find Violet opening the door, and he lifted her up with just a little effort to give her a big hug.

Seeing his daughter was always a good thing. He almost wished he could do it more often.

He managed to get himself into the apartment eventually, only gently kicking the wrapped box by the door through. Violet clung to him so tightly that Erik couldn't really help but chuckle quietly to himself when he went to go put her down again but failed. He got that she was always clingy at first whenever he visited, but she wasn't _that_ bad. But when he felt something wet against his neck, where Violet was hiding her face, he lost his smile and began to worry. "Vi? Kid, what's wrong?" he asked. He tried pulling her away from where she had her arms wrapped around his neck but she wouldn't budge.

"J-Just… Miss you…" Violet sniffled.

That was the only thing Erik hated about their arrangement – that he knew his daughter always missed him. And he missed her too, naturally. But it was at times like that, where Violet cried over how much she missed him, that Erik wondered if it was all worth it.

"I know you do. I'm sorry, kiddo," Erik whispered. He managed to pry Violet away from his shoulder just enough to kiss her forehead and swipe his thumb across her cheek, wiping away the small tears. "Now come on. It's Christmas. No tears on Christmas. You got that?"

Violet gave a small nod, and Erik was finally able to get her back on her own feet just as they reached the kitchen. Violet quickly sat down at the table again, just to have Lucy quietly crouch down next to her and ask her what was wrong – she didn't have a clue what she'd been crying over and what Erik had said, but Lucy noticed how red her eyes had become. But once Lucy was sure Violet was okay, she only sighed and looked to Erik with a strangely menacing grin on his face, and then back to Bickslow still at the table.

"Well, I guess I should introduce you two now," she mumbled. "Bickslow, this is Erik, Vi's dad. And Erik, this is… Well, Bix."

Of all the times that Lucy could've introduced him to Violet's father, it had to be when he'd been shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth.

"Ah, of course. I finally get to meet the guy who's been fucking my best friend. Excellent."

"E-Erik!" Lucy screeched. She'd never seen Bickslow's face so red, and quite frankly, she was sure her own was just as bright.

"What's fucking?" Violet asked.

Lucy could only gape at her daughter while a hand flew to her mouth. Bickslow, on the other hand, choked on the bacon he'd been trying to swallow. And Erik had to refrain from giggling like a child. "A bad word," Erik managed to explain as Lucy scowled at him. "A very, _very_ bad word, that you must never say."

"Why not?"

"Because it's a horrible word, and Daddy shouldn't have said it anyway," Lucy cut in. The last thing she needed was Violet saying _that_ at school.

Bickslow finally managed to clear his throat and breath normally once Violet had merely shrugged and returned to her breakfast. "It's, um… Good to meet you," he mumbled. Truthfully, he was nervous as all hell, because Erik was Violet's dad and the last thing Bickslow wanted to do was make the guy think that he was a horrible role-model or anything.

But since Bickslow had never even seen a picture of him, he had to admit that he was surprised by Erik's appearance. He hadn't exactly known what to expect, but the spiked hair and the long scar over his right eye was not at all what Bickslow had anticipated. But originally, he'd thought Violet looked like Lucy. Now he could see why Lucy insisted that she looked more like her father – the resemblance was clearly there.

"Oh, I'm sure it is," Erik snickered. Really though, he had a feeling that Bickslow was fucking terrified right then. Sure, he didn't really want it, but he was in a good mood that day, just because he got to spend a few days with his daughter, and strangely enough, making his best friend's boyfriend squirm was going to just a little amusing.

* * *

Erik walked back into the living room after tucking Violet into bed, just to find Lucy standing with his jacket held in her hands. "Sick of me already?" he asked.

Lucy tried not to roll her eyes. "You know that's not it," she mumbled.

"Then what?"

"I want you to go and talk to Bix."

Erik raised an eyebrow at her. He'd been expecting Lucy to say that she needed him to pick up some ice-cream or just random food or something. He definitely hadn't seen her asking him to go talk to her boyfriend. "Uh… And why the fuck would I do that?"

"Because I'm asking you to," Lucy said. She wouldn't be doing it unless she thought it was actually necessary, though. And right then, she did. Erik would be leaving in a couple more days since it was already 29th, and talking to Bickslow was something that only Erik could do. She'd barely heard from him herself since he'd left not long after lunch on Christmas Day, right before Gajeel had visited as he did every year. He claimed that he'd just been busy trying to get work finished, but really, Lucy knew it wasn't the entire truth. She knew that Bickslow was keeping his distance because Erik was in town, and she hated it. "I need you to just… I don't know, to tell him you don't hate him."

Erik scoffed as he planted himself right in the middle of the lounge. "Why would he think I hate him?"

"Because he spends more time with Vi than you do."

"So? So do you. I certainly don't hate you."

"I'm her mother. It's different."

 _She has a bit of a point there_. Still, Erik didn't really know why Bickslow would think he hated him. He didn't really have a reason to. He barely knew the man himself, but he trusted what Lucy and Violet said about him – which had been a lot. Reaching for the T.V. remote, Erik shrugged. "Either way, I don't hate him. I'm not going to bother going out just to tell him that either. That's his problem."

Lucy snatched the remote away and switched the T.V. back off, just to shove the jacket onto Erik's lap. "Erik, please," she said softly. "I need you to do this for me. Just take him out somewhere and convince him that he has nothing to worry about. _Please_."

He hesitated for a moment before sighing through his nose and getting up from the lounge. "Fine," he muttered. Had Lucy been anyone else, he would've just told them to fuck off. But it was Lucy, and she was his best friend and he'd really do anything for her. It didn't help that she had one hell of a puppy-dog face when she wanted to get her way. "Give me his address."

* * *

When Erik had shown up at Bickslow's door just before eight, he'd quite frankly been speechless. Erik was the last person Bickslow had ever expected to visit him, and when he'd opened the door, he'd only thought that Erik was there to tell him that he and Lucy were done and that Lucy was getting back together with the father of her child. Lucy having told him time and time again that he had zero reasons to worry about Erik just hadn't mattered.

But then Erik had told him to just get a jacket and get in his car so they could go to a bar. He'd tried getting out of it naturally, partly because he still had work to finish off, and partly because the idea of actually going somewhere with Erik had terrified him. But then Erik had quite literally dragged him away from his desk once he'd gone back inside, and after a short drive, they'd been sitting at a quiet bar downtown, and mostly in silence. Bickslow simply hadn't known what to say, and Erik had just been trying to put talking off for as long as possible.

Well, at least until he'd finished his first drink.

It wasn't like Erik was comfortable being there either. But Lucy had asked him to do it, and that meant he had to try.

"She's worried about you," Erik finally said. "Lucy, I mean."

Bickslow glanced up for just a moment. "What for?"

"You kind of disappeared on Christmas." Of course Erik had noticed it as well. From what he could tell, Bickslow was almost always at the apartment if the girls weren't visiting his house. For the most part, Erik just hadn't thought much about it.

"Yeah, well… Had stuff to do," Bickslow mumbled.

"That's a fucking lie. Even I know that."

Bickslow frowned. It was half a lie. But the fact that Erik was calling him out on it meant Lucy knew too, and he didn't really like that. He ran his finger around the edge of the glass tumbler before admitting quietly, "Didn't really want to get in the way. Figured it was just easier to stay away for a few days."

"Why?" Erik asked, despite knowing the answer. He just wanted to hear Bickslow say it.

He gave a small shrug. "It's the holidays. It's your time with Vi. I didn't want to ruin that or make anyone uncomfortable."

"The only one uncomfortable with any of this shit is you."

Bickslow scoffed into his drink as he lifted it from the damp napkin. "Yeah, sure," he muttered. "I believe that."

Lucy hadn't mentioned anything about Bickslow being _frustrating_. But really, Erik didn't blame him for being like that. It was annoying, but it made a little bit of sense, even when Bickslow was barely saying anything. Still, Erik had to refrain from hitting the guy over the back of the head. "Look, I don't know where the fuck you're getting it from," Erik began, "But I don't hate you."

Bickslow didn't think Erik _hated_ him… "You just don't like me," he mumbled. "Don't worry. It's fine. No one expects you to."

Erik rolled his eye. "You're a frustrating son of a bitch, you know that?"

"I… I don't mean to be…"

"Well, you are."

"Sorry…" It wasn't like Bickslow wanted to be frustrating. But that's just the way it was. "But seriously, it's fine. I never expected us to get along. I mean, I spend more time with your kid than you do. Any normal person is going to hate the guy who does that." If Violet had been Bickslow's daughter, and it had been Erik that was dating Lucy, then Bickslow knew he'd sure as hell want to hate Erik. There was a fear of being replaced, and that was what Bickslow had been trying to avoid. That was why he'd kept his distance. He didn't want Erik to think that he was being replaced.

"I'm not exactly a normal person though, am I?" Erik said. Bickslow only spared him another glance as he took another sip of his drink. "I accepted a long time ago that someone else was going to raise Vi," he continued softly. It was a rare tone with him. "As far as Lucy's concerned, you're that person. You're part of the family whether you realise it or not. Lucy wants you there, and so does Violet. That's all that matters."

He'd missed a lot of Violet's life. And while it hurt sometimes, whenever Erik remembered that he'd missed all of her firsts, he still knew that it had been for the best. He wasn't cut out for being a parent. He wasn't stable enough for that. Lucy had given him an out because she'd known that, and if Erik hadn't known that Lucy was capable of doing it all on her own, then he wouldn't have agreed to it.

Still, he wasn't going to hate the person who did decide to step up and be the responsible parent that he could never be. Bickslow was that person, whether he knew that already or not. Even then, he'd heard a lot about Bickslow from Lucy and Violet (mostly Violet), and as far as Erik could tell, he didn't really have a reason to hate Bickslow. He cared about them both. Erik knew that. And Lucy made good judgements that Erik trusted.

Of course though, that wasn't to say that Erik wouldn't hunt the man down if he ever hurt them… Because he would. He just hoped he'd never have to do it.

* * *

 _ **A/Ns:** OOC Cobra, I know. Oh well. Anyway, lots of Cobra writing lately. It's made me want to start a CoLu chapter fic... A super weird chapter fic where Cobra may or may not be an elf (he is). Of course there's Bix in it too, because it's me and I can't help myself. I'm pretty excited to plan it all out. But I have other stories to write and finish then... Like BixCo week. And then the pirate AU. And other chapter stories and there's just way too many. _

_Anyway. There's probably one one more chapter after this. Two at most, if I decide to do a follow-up to Dawn, since this story was designed to go up to Dawn, not beyond it. I'll have to see what I think works._


	4. Chapter 4

_This is kind of a filler chapter, I guess. Nothing of substances happens, or at least that's what I think. Kind of just fills in a bit of time since this AU has a pretty long timeline for such a short series._

 _Anyway, this was supposed to be the final chapter, but, again... filler chapter. It kind of got away from me so the next part will be the last. It's about 50% done so I'll probably get that posted in January._

 _Also, since I kept forgetting to answer in the previous chapters... To the guest who asked what lime cordial was, I guess it's called squash in the US (and other places, but I'm not sure of specifics). It's just that super concentrated liquid you mix with water and it ends up being an obnoxiously sweet, sugary drink. Lime cordial in Australia is ridiculously green and it's kind of refreshing in summer, but it's absolutely full of sugar._

* * *

Had anyone seen him that evening as he descended the stairs in Lucy's apartment building, they would've assumed he'd just broken up with her by how miserable he looked. Fortunately, it wasn't even close to being the truth, but that still didn't stop him from letting out a quiet sigh as he finally made it down to the first floor to leave.

It was the fact he was leaving at all that had Bickslow like that.

That was the part he hated the most. And, sure, he liked his house a whole lot more than Lucy's apartment just because he had more room at home, but his house lacked two very important things. His house didn't have a Lucy or a Violet and that was what made going home so horrible.

But, Bickslow knew he couldn't stay at Lucy's all the time. Sometimes he wished he could, but he still had his dogs to look after and he hated knowing that he'd been neglecting them with how much time he spent at Lucy's. Naturally, he didn't want to give either of them up, because even if they were just pets, Bickslow still couldn't imagine his life without his dogs. He couldn't imagine his life with Lucy and Violet, either. If he could have all of them at the same time then it would be fine, but Bickslow wasn't sure if that was possible.

* * *

"So, uh… I was thinking…"

Lucy dropped her empty popcorn container in the bin by the door before she turned back to Bickslow following her out of the movie theatre. "…That the movie was so good that we have to go see it again?" she guessed, holding her hand out for him.

"What? I mean, sure, but… No, that wasn't what I was going to say." Lacing his fingers with Lucy's to swing their hands between them, Bickslow took a loud, nervous sip of his soda before speaking again. "I was thinking of cleaning up one of the bedrooms and doing it up a little for Vi, so maybe you and her could stay at my place every now and then or something."

"Wait, really?"

"Well, yeah…" Bickslow mumbled. He'd been considering it for a few weeks now.

In the year he'd been dating Lucy, they'd gotten into a fairly stable routine. On Friday, Bickslow would pick Violet up from school to take her back to his house to play with the dogs, and then Lucy would head over once she finished work a couple of hours later. They usually just got dinner delivered, and then once it was time for Violet to go to bed, Lucy would take her home and that would be it for the night. On the weekend, they usually just all went to the park together, weather permitting, and then they'd go back to Lucy's in the afternoon and Bickslow almost always spent the night. On Sunday, Bickslow stayed at home, and he usually did on Monday as well, but he still spent more time at Lucy's apartment than he did his own house.

Still, while he enjoyed it, he also wanted to spend some more time at his own house – he just didn't want to give up his time with Lucy and Violet for it. So, when he'd been driving home one night, just a little miserable that he was having to head back to his house again, he'd thought about the possibility of Lucy and Violet maybe spending the night at his house for a change.

Although, judging by Lucy's surprise, Bickslow wasn't so sure about it. "I mean… It was just an idea I had," he quietly continued, fishing his car keys from his pocket as they made it outside the cinema. "Just… Just forget I said it at all, honestly. It's stupid. I know." The apartment was Violet's home, so it wouldn't be fair to expect Lucy to move her kid every weekend or something just so they could spend more time together. It was just easier for Bickslow to stay at Lucy's.

"Well, I mean… I won't say it's _not_ stupid…" Lucy said slowly. She only let go of Bickslow's hand once they reached his car in the parking lot just to walk around the other side and get into the passenger seat once the doors were unlocked. Truthfully, Lucy hadn't expected Bickslow to say what he had, but she was more confused by how quickly he was dropping the idea. "It's probably just not the best idea..."

"Yeah, I know," Bickslow sighed. He shook his head and started the car, pulling his seatbelt on. "Like I said, just forget I even brought it up."

Lucy heard the disappointment all too clearly, and a small part of her couldn't help but worry. She really did believe that Bickslow doing up one of his spare rooms to make it more suitable for Violet to stay in occasionally was just a little stupid. Lucy wasn't even going to deny that. But, what Lucy did believe, was that there were better uses for Bickslow's spare room – ones that weren't quite so temporary.

"I wasn't finished," she said, dropping her hand to rest on Bickslow's again so he couldn't put the car into reverse just yet. "What I meant was that I think it would be a waste of time for you to clean up one of the rooms just so Vi can sleep in there every now and then."

"Yeah, I got that. Don't worry about it."

Lucy tried not to roll her eyes. "Again, I wasn't finished," Lucy repeated. That time, she wasn't going to give Bickslow any time to cut her off again. "A better idea would be to just… move in together and be done with it."

"Wait, what?" Bickslow's head snapped around to look at Lucy like he hadn't just heard her properly – which he hadn't. "Say that again?"

"How about we just move in together?" Lucy suggested, shrugging slightly as she tried not to laugh at the gobsmacked look on her boyfriend's face. "I mean, you spend most of your time with us anyway, so financially you'd be better off if we lived together. You wouldn't be spending so much on fuel driving to the apartment all the time, and you wouldn't have to buy any new furniture for Vi since I already have all of that. We'd have less rent to pay between us if we lived together, too."

Bickslow was almost too stunned to speak. He'd only been suggesting they switch things up a little and spend some nights at his house instead of Lucy's, but there Lucy was, suggesting they actually live together. He already liked the idea, but he hadn't been expecting it in the slightest. Quite frankly, he hadn't thought it was something Lucy wanted to do just because she had Violet to look out for, and the last thing Lucy would want is to move in with someone just to break up with them down the track and have to move with Violet again. Granted, Bickslow had no intentions of breaking up with her anytime soon (or so he hoped), but still, he'd never minded that things between them were a little slow at times. He'd just thought actually moving in together would be something they didn't even consider for _at least_ another year.

"Wow. Just… Wow," he managed. He even turned the key in the ignition to shut the engine off again – he definitely needed a few moments to process that. "Why do I get the impression you've been thinking about that for more than a few seconds?"

"Probably because I have been." She'd started considering it as a viable option sometime after Christmas, so it had only been a few months. Lucy hadn't really known how to bring it up though, so she'd kept it to herself and hoped that she'd find time to talk to Bickslow about it one day. It was really just perfect that Bickslow had decided to suggest doing up his spare room for Violet. Sure, actually moving in together was a bit of a leap from what Bickslow had been suggesting, but Lucy still thought it was the better idea of the two. Perhaps she was just a little biased, though.

"I see…"

"We don't have to. It was just an idea," she said. Bickslow's silence was now just a little concerning. Lucy couldn't really help but think she'd said something wrong. "I just thought it might've been a good time to bring it up since you were talking about us staying at your place sometimes…"

"No, no, I get it. I'm just, uh… I'm just a little surprised, is all. I didn't expect you to be interested in that."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, because of Vi." Bickslow shrugged, starting the car again to finally pull out of the parking bay. "I just thought that you'd, you know, want to wait until she was a little older or something, or at least until you were completely sure you didn't really have anything to worry about… Like, her getting hurt and all."

"Are you saying _you_ would end up hurting her?" Lucy asked.

"What? Fuck no!" he quickly said. He couldn't even _think_ of doing anything to Violet. "I love Vi. You know that. I could never do anything to hurt her – or you, for that matter."

"Then what are you worried about? I'm not worried about you, and, well… I don't know if you know this or not, I kind of like you…"

"Kind of?"

"Just a little bit. I tolerate your presence."

Bickslow rolled his eyes as he stopped at the red light. "God, now I know why you and Erik get along so well," he muttered. The more he got to know Erik, the more he realised just how similar Lucy was to him. They were like two peas in a pod. Granted, Bickslow didn't really care much, but there was the occasional moment where he wondered just how much Erik had rubbed off on Lucy over the years – though perhaps it had been Lucy being the bad influence on Erik. "I'm so glad you tolerate me. Appreciate it. Really."

"You're welcome," Lucy giggled. "But seriously though, if you don't want to move in together just yet, that's fine."

"It's not that I _don't_ want to… Because, I mean, I actually kind of love the idea? But I just… I feel like it's something we need to talk about more, you know? Especially with Vi. And probably with Erik, too."

"Bix, I thought we'd passed this whole Erik thing."

"We have." Honestly, he was kind of friends with Erik. But that didn't mean he was just going to move in with the guy's best friend and daughter without seeing if he was actually okay with it. "But out of courtesy, I think we should talk to him about it."

"By we, you mean _me_ , don't you?"

"Well, yes, of course," Bickslow said. _Duh_. Lucy refrained from rolling her eyes at him. "But even if we don't talk to Erik about it, I definitely think we need to talk to Vi about it. I mean, what if she doesn't _want_ to live with me? I don't exactly want to make a five-year-old girl hate me."

That time, Lucy did roll her eyes. Sometimes he was absolutely unbelievable. Sometimes it was cute when he worried about useless things, but other times, it was just downright annoying. The latter was right then. "If you for one second believe that Vi wouldn't want to live with us together, then you're actually insane."

"I'd still feel better if we actually talked to her about it."

"Fine. I will ask my daughter whether or not she cares if we all live together," Lucy sighed. "And then I'll even ask Erik what he thinks, even though I know for certain that he won't actually care."

Bickslow nodded, hands gripping the steering wheel as he kept his eyes on the road. "Good. I appreciate it."

They got back to Lucy's apartment a short while later, relieving Gajeel of his babysitting duties. Even though it had been a while since Lucy had asked Gajeel to watch Violet for a few hours, he'd still graciously agreed just as he usually did. The only time Lucy did ask Gajeel to watch her those days was when she wanted to go out with Bickslow. They still didn't get much time to themselves, but they tried to make a point of getting at least a few hours out every few weeks. Most of the time they just went to see a movie and picked up something to eat. It wasn't fancy by any means, but it was just enough for Lucy that she didn't feel guilty for leaving Violet with someone else.

Sending Violet to go brush her teeth before bed, Lucy followed Gajeel to the door before he went back into the hall to head to his own apartment. "So, do I even want to know what inappropriate terms you taught Vi this time?" she asked.

"I taught her no such things, thank you very much," Gajeel defended himself. He scratched his forehead before he quietly continued, "Although for the record, if she asks about exploitation and, uh… being a master manipulator, it definitely wasn't me."

"You told her what exploitation means?"

"Nope. Definitely not. I'm totally innocent in this. It was the T.V."

"Uh-huh. Sure it was." Really though, Lucy wasn't surprised. And sure, it wasn't exactly the best, but she could deal with her five-year-old daughter knowing what blackmail, exploitation, and manipulation meant, even if she did have a habit of using them occasionally. There were worse things for her to know. "Anyway, thanks for watching Vi. You know I always appreciate it."

Gajeel shrugged. "I don't mind kids when they're not annoying shitheads. Vi's a good kid."

"Well, I'm glad you think that," Lucy laughed. "Thanks again. Tell Minerva I said hey, will you?"

"Yeah, yeah. Will do. Night, Blondie."

"Good night, Gajeel." She gave him soft smile before he left, and then she was sighing and closing the door after him. Violet was just coming back out with her favourite stuffed dog toy, already dressed in her spotty pyjamas thanks to Gajeel. "Now, Monkey, I hope you and Gajeel didn't get into too much mischief tonight."

Violet shook her head. "No, Mummy."

Lucy didn't believe it for a second. "Well, that's good then. But now, it's time for you to go to bed."

"Bedtime story?"

"Of course. Do you want me to read it? Or do you want Bix to again?"

"Bickso!" Violet answered.

Lucy rolled her eyes and sat down on the sofa with a sigh, reaching down to unzip her boots. "Bix…" she called out towards the kitchen where she knew for a fact Bickslow was already making himself a coffee. The man was a caffeine addict. "You are required."

Bickslow stuck his head around the corner to see what the fuss was about. "Hmm? What?"

Violet walked over him and looked at him with the eyes of someone who definitely knew she was well on her way to being a master manipulator. "Can you read bedtime story?" she asked sweetly.

"A bedtime story, huh?" Bickslow considered it for a moment, tapping his fingers on his chin for emphasis before he quickly bent down to scoop Violet up and spin her around, almost knocking the squealing girl's head on a lampshade. "A bedtime story can definitely be arranged. I vote one with knights and dragons!"

"No! Mermaids!"

Lucy could only shake her head at them as Bickslow carried Violet into her room to find a suitable bedtime story. Sometimes she was convinced Violet actually loved Bickslow more than she did her, but that was fine. Sort of. If she was going to be replaced by anyone though, Lucy could deal with it being Bickslow.

A short while later, after he'd finished reading Violet her bedtime story and once he'd put the book back in the small bookcase in her room, Bickslow returned to Violet's bedside to kneel down on the soft carpet to pull the duvet up to her chin to make sure she was all tucked in. "Want me to go get Mum to tuck you in properly?" he asked softly.

Violet shook her head. "It's okay."

"Are you sure?" Violet nodded that time, and Bickslow let out a quiet sigh as he pushed the sheet under the edge of the mattress.

He'd tucked Violet in plenty of times, read her to sleep just as many times, and even gotten her ready for bed and got her cleaned up just as many times. He really didn't mind it. But with Lucy's proposition still on his mind, he was only thinking that if they were to all live together, he wouldn't really be going out of his way to be that _parental-figure_ to Violet. And it wasn't like he went out of his way anyway, because he still loved the kid and didn't mind taking care of her when Lucy asked him to, but it would be easier if they lived together. Lucy wouldn't even _need_ to ask because it would be expected of him, and Bickslow really didn't mind the idea of rising to meet those expectations.

"Hey, uh, Vi?" His curiosity was seemingly getting the better of him though, and while he should definitely be letting Violet go to sleep, he couldn't help but ask one quick question first. "What do you think of living with me? With your mum, too, of course. But, you know, with me as well, so we'd all live together and I'd get to see you all the time."

Violet sat up and looked at him with eyes full of excitement. "Are we gonna live with you now?" she asked quickly.

"Uh, maybe. We'll see." He gently pushed her back down to tuck her in again. Getting excited right before bed was never good. "We have to talk about it first, but… Maybe. Is that something you'd like, though?"

She quickly nodded. "I could see the doggies every day!"

"Yeah, I guess you could. Now come on, time for bed."

Violet yawned as she laid back against her pillow, hugging her stuffed dog toy tight. "Goodnight, Bickso. I love you," she whispered.

Bickslow was too stunned to say anything for a second. He knew Violet adored him, but she'd never said it like that. And sure, she was still just a kid, but it meant a lot to him. Smiling softly, he leant down to gently kiss the top of her head, then switched off the lamp beside the bed. "I love you too, kid. Get some sleep."

He pulled the door almost all the way closed and went back out to the living room. Lucy turned the volume down on the T.V. and looked up to Bickslow as he sat down next to her. "Wait, she's not already asleep, is she?"

"Well, she's not actually asleep, but yeah."

Lucy sniffed. "I'm actually being replaced." Whenever Bickslow put Violet to bed, he always called her in afterwards so she could finish putting her daughter to sleep herself. But he hadn't done it that night, which meant her daughter was still growing up too quickly and that she was most definitely being replaced.

"Oh, you are not," Bickslow chuckled, rolling his eyes as he wrapped his arms around Lucy and pulled her into his side. "You are completely irreplaceable and you know that."

"Mm… Maybe…" she mumbled. So she probably wasn't ever going to be replaced, just because she was Violet's mother and she'd always be, but it was still just a _little_ annoying that Violet seemed to want spend more time Bickslow than her those days. "Anyway, I ordered a pizza. And yes, I got one half with extra pineapple and olives for you."

"You're amazing."

"I also finished making your coffee, so it's sitting in the kitchen and waiting for you."

"Seriously, have I ever told you how much I love you? You're actually perfect."

Lucy only rolled her eyes as Bickslow quickly got up to go get his caffeine-fix.

When he returned, he sat back down next to Lucy and crossed his legs under him on the cushions. He slowly sipped at his coffee while staring at the T.V., not really paying attention to it. He didn't care much for watching the mindless garbage that called itself reality television. How Lucy could actually tolerate it, he didn't know.

He took another sip before he decided to resume the conversation from not that much earlier. "So, uh… When I was putting Vi to bed…" he began cautiously, getting Lucy's attention as she turned the volume back down to listen. "I asked what she thought of us all living together. You know, if she wanted to."

"I'm guessing she loved it," Lucy said. After she'd brought it up on the way home and after Bickslow had said he wanted to talk to Violet about it, Lucy had planned on asking her daughter about the idea of moving in with Bickslow. But she certainly hadn't been planning on doing it that same night, and she definitely hadn't expected Bickslow to be the one to ask her, either.

"Well, yeah… But... Okay, look." He leant forward just to set the mug down on the coffee table that still had tiny flecks of glitter and glue stuck to it in some places. "I still want to talk to Erik about it, but, assuming he was totally fine with it—"

"Which he will be…"

"—what exactly would we do? I mean, I couldn't move in here with you because I have the dogs," he explained, "and as much as I love you and Vi, I'm not giving up my dogs. No fucking way." Besides, Violet probably wouldn't like him as much if he didn't have his dogs anyway. Still, Pip, Benji, and Inky were all part of his family, and even if they were just pets, he wasn't going to choose Lucy and Violet over them. He'd always choose his fur babies, if he was honest.

"I wouldn't expect you to," Lucy said. Even _if_ the apartment was allowed pets, it was still only just big enough for her and her daughter. Bickslow moving in there with her was just completely out of the question. "I was thinking it'd be at your place."

"My place?"

"Well, I mean, you have the space, and you wouldn't have to move your dogs anywhere," she explained. "Or we could, uh… I don't know… Get our own place together or something…"

"No, no. My place works, I guess." His house wasn't exactly the biggest, but he hadn't really chosen it for the number of bedrooms; the yard had been the selling point on it. But his house was still twice the size of Lucy's apartment which meant it would be the perfect size for the three of them. "Vi's room would have to be painted, though. And I suppose while that was being done, it'd make sense to get the other bedrooms repainted, too."

"If you wanted. I don't think Vi would mind much."

"Eh, the green sucks anyway."

"There is one other thing though…"

Bickslow picked his coffee back up to take another sip. "Erik, right?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah," she sighed. "You already know he usually stays here when he's in town, and that I like him staying with me since he can spend more time with Vi that way, but… But if you're not really comfortable with that when we— _if_ we move in together, then that's fine too." There were plenty of hotels in the city for Erik to stay at if Bickslow wasn't comfortable with him being there, and the last thing Lucy would want is to make Bickslow uncomfortable in his own home.

The worst part though, was that Lucy still had no idea what kind of terms Bickslow and Erik were on. Erik had pretty much refused to tell her just what they'd talked about when they'd gone out for that drink just after Christmas. She liked to think Erik had set her boyfriend straight, but she just wasn't sure.

"Oh. I'm sure it's fine." Bickslow shrugged. "He's only here a few days at a time anyway. He can just, I don't know, sleep on the couch or something. Or he can have the other room for when he's here."

"Wait, really? That's not… That's not going to be awkward for you or anything?"

"I mean, it might be a little weird, but it'd save him money, and Vi would get to see him. You know I have no interest in making things difficult."

"I know," Lucy whispered. It was a good thing, though. She wasn't sure things would've worked out had Bickslow decided he didn't like Erik still being her best friend. "But, if you did find it weird, then I'm sure Erik wouldn't mind having to stay at a hotel for a few days whenever he's here."

"Good to know. Now, what about furniture?"

* * *

"So how was school today?" Lucy asked, taking Violet's backpack to put it into the car before she helped buckle her daughter into the seat. "Anything exciting happen today?"

"Not really…" Violet mumbled.

Lucy glanced back to Violet in the rear-view mirror once she'd gotten in the front. "Are you okay? You sound a little sad. What's wrong?"

Violet shrugged. "Erin's birthday on Sunday, and everyone but me got invited."

"Oh, baby, I'm sorry. Did you really want to go?"

"No."

"Oh?"

"Erin mean."

"So why are you sad?" Lucy asked.

"'Cause no one likes me," Violet mumbled. She didn't care so much about Erin not liking her enough to invite her to her birthday party, because Erin was mean and stupid and Violet didn't want to go to her party anyway. But everyone else in her class, including the teacher, had been invited to Erin's birthday party and Violet never got invited to anyone's house, not even for a sleepover. "Why does no one like me, Mummy?"

Lucy honestly didn't have an answer for her daughter. She wished she knew why Violet had such trouble making friends, but she really had no idea. It kept her up at night more than she cared to admit, all because she was worried how her daughter would turn out if things kept going the way they were. The last thing Lucy wanted was for Violet to go through life alone. And as much as she loved her daughter, she couldn't be her only friend.

"Plenty of people like you, sweetheart," Lucy smiled quickly over her shoulder, turning her attention back to the road as she pulled out of the school parking lot. "Don't say that."

"Only _old_ people."

"Hey, are you calling me old?"

"Yes," Violet giggled.

Even if her daughter was insulting her, Lucy couldn't help but laugh with her for a second. Violet's laughter was her second favourite sound in the world, right next to the silence that came when she was asleep after being a handful all day. "Well, how about we have our own little party this weekend anyway? Just you, me, and Bix." she suggested, stopping at a traffic light and looking back up to the mirror. "We haven't done anything fun for a little while. We could have lots of pizza, and we could make some cupcakes together. We could watch some movies and play some games, too. Would you like that?"

Violet shrugged again. "I guess so…"

"Well, it's all set then. We'll have our own party and you'll be the guest of honour."

As soon as they got home, Lucy got about her usual after-school routine, which was mostly just trying to get _Violet_ into her own sort of routine. First, Violet would unpack her backpack and Lucy would make sure she carried her lunchbox and notes folder out into the kitchen, and then Violet would go and play with the dogs outside for a little bit while Lucy got an afternoon snack made up. Afterwards, Violet would get to watch her favourite show for a little, and Lucy would be able to get a head start on some cleaning or even dinner before Bickslow got back from work.

That day, as Violet sat in front of the T.V., eyes glued to the screen as she shoved carrot sticks and grapes into her mouth, Lucy read over the notes that had come home in the folder for the day. Usually, the only thing that Violet brought home from her teacher was her reading journal. That day, however, there was a note about the upcoming Father's Day event.

It was the first time Lucy had ever had to deal with that particular day, at least as far as Violet's school went. Erik had never been able to visit on Father's Day, and as far as Lucy knew, Violet had never minded much. She'd still done her best to get him something every year, even if he didn't get to see it for a few more months. With Father's Day falling on a Tuesday that year, Violet's kindergarten class was inviting all the dads in to talk to the class about their day jobs, and then spend the rest of the day with their precious children, helping them make tacky gifts and no doubt getting covered in glitter, glue, paint, or all three at once.

And, while Lucy wasn't a single parent by any means – not exactly, at least – she still felt a little left out. And surely Violet couldn't be the only one in her class that didn't live with her father. Or maybe every other child at her perfect school came from perfect families, and that was why the teachers had decided to make a point of honouring the perfect fathers in everyone's lives. Lucy just wasn't sure.

 _Perhaps I should just keep Vi home on Tuesday_ … It would save Violet feeling left out if Erik couldn't make it, and Lucy already knew that the chances of Erik being able to attend were next to nothing. He was always so busy at that time of the year.

Regardless, Lucy decided to at least talk to her daughter about it first. If Violet wanted to stay home and not ask Erik to go, then that would be fine. Perhaps she could take the day off work and they could go to the zoo. But if Violet did want to go, and Erik couldn't make it, well… Maybe Lucy would just have to bite the bullet and go in Erik's place anyway. Fathers were overrated anyway.

She sat down on the lounge just behind where Violet was sitting on the floor. "Hey, Vi? Did your teacher say anything about this Father's Day thing?" Lucy asked.

"Uh-huh."

"So you know they want you all to bring in your dads to talk and play some games with you in class?"

"Yep."

"So do you want me to call Daddy to see if he can make it to go to class with you?" Lucy questioned.

"No," Violet answered quickly.

"Oh… Okay." Honestly, Lucy hadn't expected her to say no. As much as she was used to Erik never being there, she still never turned down an opportunity to have Erik visit. "So… Did you want to just stay home that day then? Or… Or did you want me to go with you instead?"

Violet shook her head as she turned herself around, leaving her empty bowl down on the carpet beside her. "I take Bickso."

"Huh? You… You want to take Bix with you?" Violet nodded quickly and Lucy had to take a moment to process it. Her daughter wanted to take _Bickslow_ to class on _Father's Day_. That was quite possibly the last thing Lucy had expected, although she found it brought a smile to her face anyway.

In the roughly eighteen months that Lucy had been dating Bickslow, they'd lived together for nearly three of those months. Violet had probably loved it more than Lucy had so far, and she'd really, _really_ loved being able to live in a house with a yard and no upstairs neighbours to drive her insane in the middle of the night (and the dork she called her boyfriend being there all the time was a huge bonus). Still, in all the time they'd been together, and in all the time Bickslow had known Violet, she'd gotten to watch him grow completely smitten over Violet and see her as his own child. It wasn't really what Lucy had been _hoping_ for, but she loved it nonetheless. But while Lucy had always been aware of how much Bickslow cared for her daughter, she'd never really considered the fact that maybe, Violet actually saw him as something other than the cool guy with the cute puppies.

"Why do you want to take Bix, sweetie?" Lucy asked quietly, sliding down from the lounge to sit on the floor in front of Violet.

Violet shrugged before she gave her simple answer, "Bickso family now 'cause we all live together."

"Is that… Is that the only reason?"

Violet tilted her head slightly, humming as she thought about why she wanted to take Bickslow to class with her. "Bickso like Daddy!" she answered then, face lighting up with a bright smile. "He take care of me like Mummy does. Bickso is new Daddy. I gonna call him that!"

"But you already have a Daddy, Vi. What about him?"

"…I can have two!"

Lucy laughed a little as she nodded slowly. "Alright, then…" There was really no point in arguing with a five-year-old, as she knew all too well. Still, that didn't mean Lucy could just leave it at that. She couldn't do anything about Violet seeing Bickslow as a father figure in her life (not that she really wanted to anyway). What she could do, however, was try and get her daughter to just wait for a little while before saying anything to Bickslow herself, although that was bound to be just a little difficult because Violet was five and five-year-olds didn't have a filter. Still, Lucy needed Violet to wait. "How about you let me talk to Bix first, though, okay?" she suggested kindly.

"But why?"

"Well, because maybe he'll be busy with work and won't be able to go with you," Lucy said. "Or… Maybe he won't want you suddenly calling him dad, either."

"But… Why not?"

Lucy panicked when Violet sniffled and her eyes became teary. "Oh no, sweetheart, I'm sure Bix won't mind," she quickly said, pulling Violet into her arms and stroking her hair. "He loves you _so_ much. Just… let Mummy talk to him about it first, okay? And then you can ask him to go with you on Father's Day."

"Okay…" Violet mumbled.

"Now, how about we get your reading out of the way so you can play with the dogs for the rest of the afternoon?"

* * *

Closing Violet's door behind herself, Lucy went to find Bickslow at his desk, dragging his hands down his face in an almost terrifying manner as he stared at his laptop screen. "You alright there?" she asked, laughing nervously as she stepped over the snoozing dogs sprawled out on the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I just got given a whole lot more work to do that all needs to be finished by October. Apparently I don't need to sleep at all for the next six weeks."

"Ouch. Sounds like you need a bit of a break while you can still have one then."

"I… I guess…" Bickslow mumbled. He couldn't help but confused as he felt Lucy tugging his chair away from the desk slightly just so she could walk back around and sit herself on his lap with her legs hanging over the arm of the chair. "I mean, I thought you were just going to suggest I go have a drink or something… I didn't know _this_ is what you had in mind for my break," he mumbled again.

"Oh, shut up." She reached back to shove his shoulder gently before leaning back against his chest slightly. "Although, later, maybe, assuming you come to bed at a reasonable time."

"I will go to bed right now if it means you get naked."

Lucy rolled her eyes at him. "My god, you are a menace sometimes."

"More like all the time," Bickslow corrected.

" _Anyway_. I wanted to talk to you about something."

Bickslow groaned as he kicked off the ground with his foot, forcing the chair to spin around quickly. Lucy squealed as she was forced to cling onto the chair and to Bickslow, who only tightly wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her cheek as the chair stopped spinning again. "But talking is _boring_ ," he complained.

"It is not," Lucy sighed. "But it's Father's Day soon, so we need to talk about that."

Bickslow finally nodded. "Fine. I'm guessing Erik will be coming to see Vi this year then? Is that what you wanted to say?" He knew Erik hadn't seen Violet on Father's Day the previous year because he'd been dating Lucy for half a year by that point, but the whole issue of Father's Day wasn't something they'd ever talked about so Bickslow had kind of just assumed that Erik not being there had been a one-time thing. It made sense to Bickslow for Erik to be visiting Violet that year, and really, he didn't mind. He had no reason to mind, and they'd already finish turning the third bedroom into a guest room for Erik's benefit anyway.

"It's unlikely he'll be here. He's never seen her on Father's Day," Lucy said.

"Wait, really?"

She shrugged slightly. "Vi doesn't mind I don't think, so I don't worry about it. But that's not what I wanted to say anyway."

"Oh. Okay." Bickslow couldn't help but find it a little odd that Erik had never visited at that time of the year, but it wasn't really his place to say anything. "Then what?"

"Well, Vi's class is doing a little something for Father's Day this year apparently, and she wants to take you."

"What do you mean, she wants to take me?"

Lucy shrugged again. Really, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say when she thought it was pretty obvious. "She wants to ask you to go with her to school on Father's Day, so you can talk to the class about what you do and then spend the rest of the day doing tacky arts and crafts with all the other dads."

"And she wants to take me?"

"Yup."

"Not Erik?"

"Nope."

Bickslow almost didn't know what to say. Violet wanted to take _him_ to her Father's Day class party over her actual father. He still wasn't trying to replace Erik by any means, but knowing that Violet put him on the same level as Erik was just one of the best feelings in the world for Bickslow. He was almost tempted to go get Violet out of bed to hug her half to death (although not really, because that would devastate him).

But, judging by the stupid grin Bickslow had on his face, Lucy had a feeling that he was pretty excited to hear that Violet wanted to take him to school with her. She hadn't really been worried about Bickslow freaking out and saying no, but it was reassuring to see him so stupidly happy and stunned by it. "I told her to wait until I'd talked to you about it, just in case you didn't want to go…" she said.

"What? Why would I say no? I'd be honoured to go!"

"I know, but I know you still don't want to step on Erik's toes with anything, so I had to make sure first."

"Alright, fair enough. But seriously, she really wants me to go with her?"

"Of course she does. I'm still convinced she likes you more than she likes me these days."

Bickslow shook his head. "She just likes me for my dogs, but I'll take it anyway." He was sure he'd be smiling for the next week straight now, and he couldn't wait for Violet to actually ask him to go. He was probably going to agree to it before she even asked and make a bit of a fool out of himself, but that was fine.

"There was one other thing, though…" Lucy said slowly. "And this one you really can say no to…"

"Uh, okay… What is it?"

"I think Vi wants to start calling you Dad."

Bickslow stared idly at Lucy sitting with a nervous smile. He blinked slowly, trying to wrap his head around the words he thought he'd just heard. His brain wasn't cooperating, though. "What now?"

"When I was talking to Vi earlier about the Father's Day thing, she uh… She might've said something about how we're all a little family now because we live together, and that you're like her dad because you take care of her..."

"Okay…"

"…And then she said something about how she's going to call you Dad – well, _Daddy_ specifically because she's five and hasn't graduated to just Dad yet – because I guess that's who she sees you as now…"

"Uh-huh. Right. Okay."

Lucy worried as Bickslow nodded quickly and a dazed look set on his face. If she'd known that Violet wanting to call him her dad would slightly break him, then she wouldn't have brought it up. Lucy didn't really think it was that big of a deal, though. Granted, it was slightly different to going along with her to a Father's Day event, but at the end of the day, it was just a title and titles weren't that important – or at least that was what Lucy thought.

Maybe Bickslow just wasn't ready for that, though, for reasons unknown to Lucy. He basically already acted like Violet's father as it was, but apparently _Violet_ acknowledging that was just too much for Bickslow. Lucy couldn't really help but be a little worried of the future, too, if Violet calling him something other than _Bickso_ scared him.

"Bix, I can tell her not to do it, it's fine," Lucy said. "I can understand if it makes you uncomfortable, and I'm pretty sure Violet will understand too. Well, eventually."

"I… I don't know," Bickslow mumbled. "I just didn't really expect this, you know?" It wasn't like he was completely opposed to it. A small part of him was just giddy over it because he really did adore Violet and he saw her as his own daughter anyway, so it was ridiculously flattering for Violet to want to call him Dad.

But there was a much larger part of him that was worried about what Erik would think. Sure, they were friends (sort of), and sure, Bickslow had started to give him random updates on Violet if something interesting (or stupid) happened. But Erik was Violet's father, not him. Stepping in for some stupid little class party was one thing, but letting Violet call him Dad was something else entirely. Something about it just felt wrong, almost.

"I didn't expect it either," Lucy said softly. "But I think it's kind of nice. She really loves you."

"I know. Just… At least let me talk to Erik first. I might be a bit more comfortable with it if Erik's okay with it."

Lucy shrugged and turned her head to quickly kiss his cheek. "That's fair." It was probably the one time she'd agree with Bickslow when it came to his incessant need to run everything by Erik those days. "But… Back to you going to school with Vi on Father's Day…"

"Uh-huh…"

"You know everyone's going to think you're her dad anyway, right?" Lucy pointed out. Honestly, she wouldn't put it past Violet to actually stand up in front of the class with Bickslow and say Bickslow was her father. She also wouldn't be surprised if Violet just ended up telling everyone she had _two_ dads and thus confused the hell out of her teachers and all the other kids in the room, but really, Lucy didn't care.

Bickslow shrugged, a smile returning to his lips. "I know. I can deal with that."

"Good… And, you also know you're probably going to get covered in paint and glitter at some point too?"

"I mean… She's five, so I figured that was just to be expected." Although as long as Bickslow didn't get any of it in his mouth again, he'd be fine.


	5. Chapter 5

_This is it! This is the end! I know it took me a while to finish, but it's been a hectic few months and I haven't been feeling the best. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! There'll be some more notes at the end._

* * *

Bickslow stared at his phone as he stood outside Violet's school, waiting for her to make her way to the front so he could take her home. He wasn't usually the one to pick Violet up from school, although some days he did drop her off in the morning. Most of the time, he wasn't able to get to Violet's school in time because he was usually at work until five. That day though, with Lucy stuck at work for the next few hours, Bickslow had left work a couple of hours early just to make it to Violet's school in time for two thirty.

It worked out great for Bickslow, too, just because it gave him a chance to talk to Violet about something that he _definitely_ couldn't bring up while Lucy was around. Oh no.

Children slowly began filing out of the school from the open gates and the office doors. Bickslow put his phone back in his pocket and just waited for Violet to make her way out. Regardless of who picked her up, she always knew to go to one of the shady trees at the front of the school, and that was where Bickslow was waiting for her. Once she saw Bickslow there, she began running towards him with a great big grin on her face and wrapped her arms around his middle once she was close enough.

"Hi, Daddy."

Some days he was _Bickso_ , and some days he was _Dad_. Bickslow had found he didn't really mind much. He patted her head as she let go of him, grabbing her hand next to walk her back to the carpark. "Heya, monkey."

"Mummy working?" Violet asked.

"Yep. She'll be home a little late tonight so it's just you and me for a few hours. How's that sound?"

"Boring."

Bickslow feigned being offended. "Ouch. My feelings are hurt now. I don't think I like you anymore. And here I was thinking of going to get you ice-cream…"

"No, no, ice-cream!" Violet was giggled and squealing as she ran circles around Bickslow as he fished the car keys from his pocket. "You're the best, Bickso. I like you better than Mummy, promise!"

"Uh-huh. Sure you do." He checked to make sure she had her seatbelt on once she was in the car before walking back around to get in the driver's seat. "But don't worry. I'll still get you your ice-cream."

The drive to the park by Lucy's favourite café was once again spent with Violet telling Bickslow all about her day at school. Since changing classes at the start of the year, Violet had slowly but surely been coming out of her little shell. She'd had her first playdate just a month earlier, and Lucy had been so relieved about it that she'd actually cried (and Bickslow had almost cried too, but he'd spent most of his time trying to get Lucy to _stop_ crying). For the last two weeks though, all either one of them had been hearing about was Violet's new best friend Rose (and hearing that the girl's name was Rose, Bickslow had laughed to himself for a good ten minutes because _of course_ Violet's first proper friend was also named after another flower), a new student who had only moved to Magnolia with her parents a few weeks earlier. For the most part, Bickslow didn't understand what Violet said on the drive over to the park. She talked so fast that it all just sounded like gibberish, but he still listened as best he could because he loved seeing her so excited about having a best friend.

At the café, he got Violet her mini tub of ice-cream and he got his own coffee to tide him over until it was a reasonable time to go to bed, and then they were off to the park across the street to watch the ducklings in the small pond. Violet didn't particularly care for the ducks, but Bickslow thought they were cute, so when Violet had finished her ice-cream, he let her go play on the swings while he sat and stared at the fluffy yellow ducklings some more.

At some point though, once Violet had somehow managed to swing herself so high on the swing set that she almost fell off the swing, Bickslow figured it was about time he actually went and got on with what he'd brought Violet there for. For some reason, seeking the approval he knew he already had from the six-year-old was just a little terrifying. He knew he had no reason to be nervous, but he most definitely was and he was regretting the extra shot he'd ordered in his coffee.

Throwing the empty foam cup into a nearby trashcan, Bickslow ventured over to the swings to catch the chain on Violet's swing and slow her down. "Alright, don't swing too high, now," he said.

Violet giggled and tried kicking her legs out to get the momentum back. "But it's fun!"

"I know, but I don't want you falling off and getting hurt."

"Higher!"

Bickslow sighed as he kept gently pushing her each time she swung back. "What did I just say?"

"Please, Daddy! Just a _little_ higher!"

Sometimes Bickslow wasn't quite sure if Violet was aware how weak he was to her calling him that. He still didn't mind that she called him _Bickso_ sometimes, but whenever she did call him _Daddy_ , well… She definitely got whatever she wanted. She had him wrapped around her finger, and honestly, Bickslow wouldn't be surprised if she was well aware of it. She was too smart for her own good. Lucy had a habit of reminding him about that and laughing at him. "Fine, just a little bit," he said with another sigh, and Violet squealed with joy as she got to swing high up in the air.

Bickslow decided to just let her be for a few more minutes. He figured Violet would get bored of the swings eventually so it would just be a matter of time. Unfortunately for Bickslow, even after five minutes where he honestly stopped paying much attention and checked his phone a couple of times while he kept pushing Violet on the swing with his other hand, she didn't tire of it. So eventually, when Violet continued to squeal and be the happy child he loved her to be, Bickslow decided to be horrible and put and end to it, because he knew for a fact that she wasn't going to listen to him while she was playing on the swings.

He'd make it up to her later, probably. He'd mostly likely just convince Lucy to pick something up for dinner on her way home.

"Alright, that's enough now, Vi," Bickslow said, pocketing his phone once again so he could grab hold of the chains as she swung back towards him. "Time to hop off the swings."

"…But…"

"Nope, come on. You and me need to have a little talk anyway."

Violet jumped off the swing hesitantly and looked up to Bickslow, her bottom lip sticking out. "Am I in trouble?" she asked quietly.

"What? No, no, of course not, sweetheart." That just made him feel worse. _I am so not parent material_. He picked her up off the playground and gave her a bright smile. "I just wanted to ask what you thought of something, and I know you were having way too much fun on that swing to listen to me. I promise you're not in trouble."

"Okay."

He set her down gently on one of the park benches and sat down next to her with yet another sigh. "So," he began, crossing his leg over his knee and looking down to Violet. Of course, she was just looking back up with that childlike curiosity on her face. It was strange how a six-year-old could make him nervous. "Uh… So, me and your mum… You know that we're, uh… We—"

"You love each other!" Violet giggled.

Bickslow couldn't help but grimace. "Yeah, that," he mumbled. "But, um… You know that your mum and I have been, uh… _together_ , for a little while now. And, well, you know that I really love her, of course - and I really love you too, and, you know, I see you as my own kid anyway. And, well, I know you see me as family as well since you call me Dad and all now, and I guess we are all kind of a little family now, since you and Mum moved in I suppose, and… And I guess you like living with me, too."

Violet nodded. "I get to see the doggies every day."

"Yeah, you get to see the doggies… But anyway, since we are kind of a family, and your mum and me…" He trailed off and imagined hitting his head against the brick wall. It would probably be less painful. Thankfully the only person there to witness him making a fool of himself in his nervousness was Violet, and thankfully, she was too young to even know he was being an idiot about the whole thing. Hopefully. "I guess I just wanted to see what you thought of—"

"Do you want to marry my Mummy, Bickso?"

Bickslow blinked and stared at the girl for a few moments. Couldn't she have come up with that thirty seconds earlier and saved him the embarrassment of trying to get there himself? Honestly, he wasn't even that surprised she'd said it at all. Bickslow was kind of glad for it. "I, uh… Yeah, I do."

Violet sat up to throw her arms around him. "We'll be proper family then!" Violet said. "And you and Mummy will be like all the other mummies and daddies at school!"

"I… I guess so…" Bickslow mumbled."But, hey, Violet…You know even if your mum and me do get married, that I still won't _really_ be your dad. You've already gone one of those, and that's not going to change."

"Daddy's not here much but…" Violet said quietly.

The last thing Bickslow had ever wanted to do was replace Erik, and as much as Lucy (and Erik) knew that, Bickslow hadn't ever considered if Violet knew that as well. As smart as she was, perhaps that was just one thing she hadn't figured out on her own."I know he's not, but… You know, just because he's always busy and doesn't get to see you all the time, it doesn't mean he doesn't love you," he said.

"But you love me too and you're more like the other daddies."

"Yeah, but I'm still not really your dad. I'm… I'm more like your _step_ -dad. I still look after you, but your _real_ dad still comes first. Make sense?"

"Not really," Violet mumbled.

Bickslow sighed and looked back to the playground. "I guess it is kind of confusing." He knew he'd have to talk to Lucy about it now though, and he wasn't sure how that would go. "Anyway, you gotta keep this between me and you for now, alright? No telling her that I want to propose. It's a secret."

"What does propose mean?"

She knew what _blackmail_ meant, but she didn't know what _propose_ meant. Oh, how he loved that child. "It means asking your mum to marry me."

Her face lit up and she nodded quickly again. "Okay. No telling Mummy."

"Excellent."

"Are you gonna get a pretty ring?"

"Uh, well… Eventually, yeah," Bickslow said. Really, it wasn't exactly high up on his list of priorities.

Violet sat back down on the bench and kicked her legs out in front of her. "Mummy doesn't like fancy jule… jeweley?"

"Jewellery?" Bickslow said, focusing on breaking it up for Violet to hear the syllables.

"Yeah. She said it stupid."

 _That explains why she never wears anything._ It also explained why she'd specifically asked him not to buy her anything that cost more than a hundred dollars. Honestly, Bickslow hadn't thought about it much, but he'd suspected an engagement ring would be a little different. "Well… You can still buy pretty things that _aren't_ fancy. I'm sure I'll find something."

"Can I help? Please?" Violet asked excitedly.

"Uh, well… Sure, I guess."

"Let's go now!"

Bickslow didn't get a chance to protest before Violet jumped off the bench and grabbed his hand from his lap to try and pull him up. Of course, she failed, but Bickslow got up anyway just to see where she was dragging him. "Wait, Vi, I didn't mean—"

"We go now," she said again, and at some point before she managed to drag him all the way back to the car, Bickslow decided to just go with it.

Two hours later, Bickslow found himself walking out of a jewellery store with a much lower bank balance, a far too happy girl beside him, and a ring that did, in fact, have pink sapphires on it. How Violet had talked him into liking it, he wasn't sure. He just hoped Lucy liked it enough to say yes.

* * *

There was a knock on the door not long after dinner and the dogs all started howling before anyone had even gotten up to answer it. Bickslow was down the hall getting Violet ready for bed, so Lucy was drying her hands on the dishtowel quickly before turning to go answer the door.

"Alright, alright… You don't scare anyone, you fluff balls," she mumbled, trying her best to get around all three of the dogs that sat right in front of the door and continued to bark and howl at it. They were literally all bark and no bite. Pip and Inky were easy enough to push out of the way, although Pip was making it hard to actually open the door, but she had to pick Benji up to open it. The over-friendly beagle had a habit of walking through her legs to get outside when there were people out there. So hauling Benji up, Lucy slowly opened the door while doing her best to keep the bigger dogs out of the way, although they still got their noses through a gap. "Erik!"

The noses in the door shoved it open the rest of the way, and Lucy just gave up. As much as the dogs liked Erik, he didn't like them. He'd already learnt he had to pat them all at least once to get them to leave him alone, though. "Yes, yes, hello… I hate you but I have to put up with you… Okay, go away now," he said with a false sweetness. Then, finally, he got to step forward to almost hug Lucy, only stopping when he realised she was holding one of the annoying creatures. Instead, he smiled - something he only ever did for two people anyway. "I would hug you and shit, but… Gross."

Lucy rolled her eyes as she called the dogs back in and welcomed Erik inside, and finally hugged him once she'd set Benji back down. "I didn't know you were coming into town." Occasionally, his visits were unannounced, but as far as Lucy could tell, ever since she'd moved in with Bickslow, he'd always given her at least a few days notice. "How long are you here for?"

Erik shrugged. "Just dropping in for the night. Got a plane at six tomorrow morning."

"Oh. Were you already nearby?"

"Uh, sure." Really, he'd been in Sin, but as far as Lucy was concerned, that was nearby. He wasn't actually there to talk to her anyway.

"Well, Bix was just getting Vi ready for bed. Want me to go get her before she's out?" Lucy asked as she went to go sit in the lounge room, the dogs and Erik trailing behind her. She got the impression Erik was in a bit of a hurry because he kept looking around, but she didn't know what to make of it. Still, if Erik was only there for the night, Lucy knew he'd be wanting to see Violet, and Violet would be wanting to see him too.

Of course, as much as Erik loved seeing his daughter, he didn't really want to wake her or make her stay up any later than she should be, and he figured it'd probably just upset her more knowing that he was only going to be there for a few minutes before going away again. "No. She's probably better off not knowing I was here tonight. Let her sleep," he said. He'd have to make it up to her at some point in the future, though. If everything went to plan, he'd be able to spend a few weeks with her over the holidays at the end of the year. "Don't tell her I came."

It was the first time Erik had ever asked Lucy to do that, so she wasn't really sure what to think. "Oh. Um… Sure, I suppose…" She didn't like the idea of lying to Violet (although, was omission really lying?), but she didn't want to hurt Erik by telling Violet he'd been there. "Is everything alright?" she asked softly. Something just didn't feel right, and if he was saying his own daughter was better off not knowing he was there, then something _had_ to be wrong.

"What? 'Course it is. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, it's not like you've ever dropped in for just one night before, and you don't even want to see—"

"Oh, you're already here," Bickslow interrupted as he came back out of the hall. Lucy scowled at him and Bickslow refrained from turning back around. "Did I interrupt something?" he asked cautiously. He didn't think Lucy had ever looked at him like that while Erik was around. Usually it was a look she reserved for when he let Violet have too much junk food or stay up too late.

"Yes. We were—"

"Nope," Erik said, quickly standing up and walking back to the door. "You ready?"

Bickslow shrugged as he glanced back to Lucy for a second. "Uh, yeah, sure. Let me just get my keys."

Lucy was quick to get up from the lounge and follow Bickslow to the back of the house. Clearly she was missing something, and Lucy just wanted to know what was going on. "Do you care to explain?" she asked, crossing her arms as she leant against the doorframe to their bedroom.

"Explain what?"

"You and Erik. What's going on?"

Bickslow finished tying up the laces on his shoes and grabbed his keys and wallet from the dresser. "Just getting a drink with him, that's all." Really, it wasn't a big deal, and he had no idea why Lucy was being weird about it. "What, am I not allowed to talk to him now?"

"Of course you can," Lucy scoffed.

"So what's the problem?"

"I… I'm just confused," she said. "Because Erik doesn't just show up for one day at a time, and he said he doesn't even want Vi to know he's here! He's never done that before."

Bickslow shrugged. "Well, seems kind of pointless getting her up just so he can hug her and say bye again two seconds later," Bickslow pointed out. He was kind of on Erik's side with that.

"She's his _daughter_!"

"Do you want me to go and wake her up then?" If it was one thing Bickslow loved about the kid, it was how fast she got to sleep. He wished he could fall asleep in five minutes.

"No, I guess not…" Lucy mumbled. "But I'm still confused. I thought you were still scared of him or something. And why is he even here?"

Bickslow rolled his eyes at her. "I was never scared of him." Or maybe he was. Just a tiny bit. But it was fine now. They were like super best friends - although there was a pretty good chance that Erik didn't think that. "And he's here because we've secretly been having a modern day affair and sending dick pics to each other for the last year and a half and now we're running away together. Look after the dogs, will you?" he said, grabbing Lucy's arms to gently turn her so he could get back into the hall.

"That explains why he keeps sending me messages at three in the morning asking me why you keep sending him creepy pictures of children and dolls…"

"Ouch. Really?" Bickslow pouted. Although he probably deserved that one. "But seriously, he's here because I wanted to talk to him about something. That's all," he said softly, kissing the top of her head. "Now I've gotta go, so I'll see you later."

What Bickslow had to talk to Erik about, Lucy had no idea. She supposed it had to be important to have Erik flying out to Magnolia for just one night, but that just made her worry. Whatever the case was, Lucy knew she wasn't going to be getting any answers from either of them, at least not right then. She'd just have to be patient and wait for one of them to tell her what was going on.

* * *

"So are you going to bother telling me why you wanted me come all the way out here?" Erik asked as he sat down at the far end of the bar. "Or are we just going to sit here and drink in silence? Because I'm cool with that." Really though, he was curious as all hell to know what was important enough that Bickslow had needed to talk to him in person and why he hadn't just been able to say it in a text, or god forbid in a _phone call_. Although admittedly, Erik had grown rather fond of Bickslow's weekly Violet updates, even if they were kind of repetitive.

Bickslow glanced back to Erik as the bartender came and took their order quickly. He thought he'd been nervous when talking to Violet about proposing to Lucy, but Erik was just on a whole other level.

The funniest part was though, that Bickslow was still going to propose anyway. With Valentine's Day having passed already, which had been a week and a half before their first date two years earlier, Bickslow was planning on asking Lucy some time around her birthday in June. Still, he was only telling Erik out of courtesy because he was still Lucy's best friend, and honestly, Bickslow was certain there were still a few things that only Erik knew about her. That, and Erik was still Violet's father, and since Bickslow would be becoming an actual step-parent to Violet, he really had just thought it was necessary they at least _talk_ about him wanting to marry Lucy.

So why he was still nervous about it, Bickslow just had no idea. At least with Erik he didn't have to try and explain himself a little better. They were both adults (for the most part). All Bickslow needed to do was come out with it and that would it be. So he decided to do just that, only after he'd drunk a considerably amount of the beer the bartender had just placed in front of him. "I'm gonna ask Lucy to marry me."

"Okay, and?"

"I just… I just thought I'd let you know," Bickslow mumbled.

Erik shook his head. "I can't believe you made me fly all the way out here just to tell me you were gonna fuckin' propose." Really, he'd thought it had been important. But Bickslow proposing? Erik had totally been expecting that to happen at some point anyway. He hadn't thought it was something Bickslow needed to share with him, though.

"W-Well, I'm sorry. I just thought… I just thought since Vi is involved, that you should know," Bickslow maintained. In his defence, he had told Erik not to bother coming once the man had started complaining about how he didn't have the time to visit just to fucking _talk_. While Bickslow _had_ said it was important, he would've survived if he hadn't been able to tell Erik what his plan was. Still, Bickslow hadn't actually known Erik would even be coming into town to talk to him until Erik had messaged him just after noon and said he'd be later that night. "Although, since you did come all the way out here, there was something else I wanted to talk to you about…"

"And that is?"

Bickslow had to take another drink, finishing the rest of his beer in what was probably a record for him since his college days. Even Erik was just a little surprised by it. "You know that I never want to get between you and Violet. I mean, even if Lucy does marry me, I'm not going to try and stop either of you from seeing each other," Bickslow said, finger tracing along the edge of his glass. He didn't think Lucy would allow him to do that anyway, and he was fairly certain Erik didn't want that to happen either, so Bickslow knew they were all on the same page as far as that went. "But… You know Vi's been calling me dad for a while now, too…"

Erik rolled his eyes. "Bix, for the love of god, just get out with it." Although now that Bickslow was talking about his daughter, he really was just a little worried. He wasn't sure why.

Bickslow nodded. "Right, well, I asked her a couple weeks ago what she thought of me and Lucy getting married, and, uh… I just… I got the impression that she thinks everything will change then, when we get married - _if_ we get married."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. She just… She said that we'd be a proper family then and Lucy and I would be like all the other parents at her school, and… And she said that I was more like the other dads at the school anyway, because… Because—"

"Because you're there and I'm not," Erik mumbled.

Bickslow grimaced. "Yeah."

Erik had never thought he'd see the day where he'd actually be replaced. He'd always known that someone else would raise her and that had always been fine with him, because at the end of the day he'd still be _Dad_ to her and that's what he'd cared about. Part of him had been scared of reaching that day, but then he'd seen how Bickslow was with Violet and Erik had just stopped worrying about it. He'd known he had nothing to be scared of as long as Bickslow was the one Lucy chose to be with, because Bickslow didn't _want_ to be the one to replace him.

Violet was too much like Lucy already, Erik knew that. She had her brains and her smarts and sometimes it was a bad thing. But perhaps Erik had put a little too much faith into his daughter. Perhaps he'd overestimated how much she'd be able to understand and how much she'd figure out on her own.

She was only six. She was just a child. And Erik knew just how much she missed him when he was gone, but she was just a girl and he only ever saw her two, maybe three times a year. What else was she to do, other than assume that the man she'd seen with her mother almost every day for the last almost two years was to be her new father? Because Bickslow was there for her. He was the one who saw her every morning and read her bedtime stories every evening.

It didn't matter that Erik had never been cut out for being a parent. It didn't matter that Lucy had known that seven years earlier and told him that she wasn't going to rely on him, but she'd never stop him from seeing his own daughter. Because Violet was six, and in the eyes of a six year old, there just wasn't any room for him anymore.

Because he wasn't there for her, but Bickslow was.

Erik had just always assumed things would keep working out, though. That Lucy would marry Bickslow and they'd get on with their own life together, and Violet would still remember he was her dad and she wouldn't care that they just weren't a normal little family.

Maybe he'd been wrong for assuming that.

"Does Lucy know what she said?" Erik asked after a while, staring at the back of the bar with the rows of bottles on the shelves.

"No." Bickslow knew he should've told her, but he just hadn't known how to do it.

Erik sighed, setting his glass down gently on the napkin. "Well, if I'm gonna be replaced, might as well be by you." He could deal with it if it was going to be Bickslow, only because he trusted him. That, and Violet already adored him.

"Erik, no one is replacing you. Especially not me. I don't want that," Bickslow insisted.

"It's not about what you want. It's about doing what's best for Vi."

"What the hell do you mean now?"

"I mean, I'll sign whatever you need me to once you and Lucy and married." Erik shrugged. He found it almost funny how just six months earlier he'd been hesitant to say that it was fine his daughter called Bickslow dad as well. Now here he was, seemingly quite comfortable forfeiting his rights just so he could try and make sure she was happy. "You can legally adopt her and then you will be a proper little family."

Bickslow rolled his eyes as he rubbed his temple. "God, will you just shut the fuck up with that? I'm not adopting her," he snapped. It hadn't even crossed his mind until Erik had just brought it up, but Bickslow still knew he wasn't the least bit interested in doing so. " _Now_ who's being the frustrating son of a bitch, huh?" Erik didn't find it amusing, but really, Bickslow wasn't trying to be. "You know Lucy better than I do. I know that. And if you think for even a _second_ that she will let you just walk away from _your_ daughter like that, then you are actually a fucking moron."

So Erik might've forgotten about Lucy for a moment. Before Violet had been born, and when she'd still been a baby, he hadn't wanted her to know that he was her father. He'd wanted Lucy to tell her that he was long gone, and he'd wanted to just be one of Lucy's old friends who occasionally visited. But Lucy had insisted otherwise, and Erik had honestly ended up being glad for it.

But things weren't the same anymore. "She'll come to her senses eventually," Erik mumbled. "Once you tell her what Vi said, and once you're married. She'll realise it's for the best. Less confusing that way."

"And what about Vi? Do you really think she'll just forget who are you?"

"Yes. I remember fuck all from when I was her age."

"You're nearly thirty. You haven't been a kid for two fucking decades. Violet _is_ a kid. She's not going to forget you overnight. And you know what will happen when you leave?"

"She'll forget me."

"She'll wonder why the fuck her dad stopped loving her and why he stopped visiting," Bickslow said.

"…I guess," Erik admitted. He hadn't considered that, either. Maybe there just wasn't a way for him to leave without hurting either of them, and Erik wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing yet.

"Normal is overrated anyway," Bickslow added quietly, picking up his glass and taking a slow sip. "I don't think Vi cares that she doesn't really have a normal family. I think she just misses you."

Erik sighed as he twisted the corner of the napkin under his drink. "I know she does." He was still inclined to think that everything would be better off if he just got out of their lives to let Violet have a chance of growing up in a normal family, but he knew better than to argue for it any longer. At least not right then. Still, a part of him was also inclined to think that Bickslow was right. Maybe normal really was overrated. "Anyway," he sighed again, getting the bartender's attention with a raise of his hand quickly. "When are you gonna have your own kid?"

Bickslow choked and spluttered on his drink, and he did his best to ignore the odd look the barkeep gave him. "What was that?" he asked weakly.

Erik couldn't help but chuckle to himself. "Come on, you ain't thought about it?"

"W-Well, not really, no…" At least not recently. When he'd first found out Lucy even had a daughter, he certainly hadn't been ready for kids, not his own and not anyone else's. But that had changed, and he'd ended up really loving looking after Violet. Still though, between his dogs that were basically his children, and then Violet, Bickslow really hadn't thought about having his own actual child at some point. "I don't even know if _Lucy_ wants more kids," Bickslow mumbled.

"Well, she does, trust me."

"She does?"

Erik nodded. "Six of them. Well, she said _at_ _least_ five."

"S-Six? Six kids?"

"Oh yeah. Said she always wanted a big family. So, you know, you might want to get a move on with that."

Bickslow paled and stared back at the bottles on the shelf behind the bar, failing to notice the amused smirk on Erik's face. He'd thought that if he ever had his own kids, whether it was with Lucy or someone else, that it would be one or two at most, not fucking _six_ of them.

Perhaps he needed to talk to Lucy about it, because as much as he loved the woman, he didn't want to have a mini army of children with her.

* * *

"Can I, uh… ask you something?" Bickslow asked nervously, watching as Lucy switched off the light in the bathroom and crossed the room to climb into the bed.

"Of course you can. You don't need to _ask_ me if you can ask me a question." She really just preferred when he said whatever was on his mind without thinking. It was always amusing hearing him complain about whatever transcript he was working on in bed in the middle of the night, especially when the novel contained unnecessary sex scenes. Those always made him shake his head and wonder if the characters were actually fucking or playing a game of _Twister_.

Bickslow nodded. "Right, yeah, well… Uh… I don't really know how to say it…" he mumbled. It was probably super easy, but the words weren't coming to him. It was precisely why he edited stories and didn't _write_ them. Words were not his forte.

"Just spit it out, come on," Lucy said.

Bickslow nodded again. "Fine. Do you, um… Do you want more kids?"

Lucy looked to him an eyebrow raised, sitting up on her elbow. She certainly hadn't expected _that_ conversation, or at least she hadn't expected it for a few more years. "Alright, where is this coming from?"

"Well, uh… Me and Erik started talking about it earlier…" he began, thankful that his embarrassment was mostly hidden in the dim room. "He asked when you and I were going to have a kid, and, well… I haven't really thought about it so I kinda just said I don't know, and we've never talked about whether _we'd_ have a baby together or whatever anyway…"

"Right…"

"And, um… And then Erik said that I should probably like, you know, hurry up and do it since you apparently always wanted lots of kids. Or at least that was what _he_ said…" He missed Lucy rolling her eyes in the dark, but he heard her sigh as he continued, "And, I mean, I love you and all, and I love Vi and all, and… And I don't really mind the idea of having a kid if… If that's what _you_ want. But I really don't want _six_ of them. Like, that's just _too_ many kids."

And all that time she'd been worrying about Erik and Bickslow not getting along. Honestly, she should've seen something like that coming. Erik could be trouble when he wanted to be. "And you believed him? Seriously?" she asked.

"Well, yeah… I mean, he's your best friend, isn't he? Why wouldn't I believe him?"

"Because Erik likes to mess with people sometimes." Lucy shook her head as she finally laid down, fluffing the pillow under her head and pulling the cover up. _Six damn kids._ She really wasn't surprised Erik had decided to tell Bickslow that little lie. She supposed they really were getting along if they were going out drinking together and talking about whether or not she wanted more kids (although honestly, it was still weird they had talked about that if she thought about it), and really, that was a good thing.

Still, if that was the way it was, then Lucy could only hope that that Erik wouldn't be making a habit of trying to scare Bickslow. She'd probably need to have a little chat with him and tell him to behave if that was the case. Then again, it was Erik, so she'd probably have more luck just telling Bickslow to take everything Erik said with a grain of salt.

"So… So you don't want six kids?" Bickslow asked.

"No! _God_ no."

Bickslow couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank god." That was the best news he'd heard all day. He really had thought that Erik was being serious, but in hindsight, Bickslow realised that had just been stupid on his part. Lucy probably would've made it obvious by then if she really did want lots of children.

"Although… Since you did ask if I wanted more kids…" Lucy proceeded carefully, twisting the corner of the pillow case between her fingers. "I wouldn't mind having another baby at some point… Or maybe two…" Of course, she'd still be fine with just Violet if things didn't work out with Bickslow, or if it Bickslow didn't want kids, or for any other reason. If anything, Lucy had always seen settling down with someone as wishful thinking anyway, because there weren't many people who'd be able to accept that her daughter would always come first. Still, if Bickslow did by some chance want to have his own child with her, and if they could somehow afford to have a baby (because they certainly couldn't right then), then Lucy probably wouldn't say no to having another kid.

"Two kids?" Bickslow repeated. He could deal with that. "I mean, I still don't really know if I _want_ my own kids." Between the dogs and Violet, he already had his hands full, and they really were more than enough for him already. "But, you know, maybe in a few years or something, sure."

"Well, of course. I mean, even if we wanted it to be, now is _definitely_ not the right time to have a baby anyway," Lucy said. "Babies are _expensive_. So many hospital appointments, furniture, toys…" She'd barely been able to afford everything when she'd been pregnant with Violet. Granted, she'd been paying for everything by herself back then, but still, considering they'd decided to save and buy their own house together at some point, they definitely couldn't afford to be having a baby right then.

Besides, she didn't really want to be getting pregnant again right away either.

"Yeah, I know."

"Now… How about you tell me how you and Erik got into the topic of babies?" she asked. Because seriously, she was curious.

Bickslow couldn't help but grimace. _Damn it._ He'd really been hoping that Lucy wouldn't ask that. It was bad enough he'd had to ask her if she wanted more kids or not, because for the most part, he just hadn't thought it was _necessary_ to ask. Even without having thought about it much, he'd decided that it was fine if she wanted another kid (with him, by some miracle), and that it'd be fine if she didn't want another kid. It just wasn't really that important to him.

Still, there was no way he could admit to Lucy that the reason he'd been talking to Erik about them having a kid, was because he'd brought up _proposing_. That, and how Erik had had a brief lapse of judgement when it came to remaining in Violet's life. "Oh, well, um… I don't know…" he mumbled, once again thankful for the lack of light in the room. He was already pretty sure Lucy would be able to tell he was lying, and if she saw him, then she'd just be laughing and telling him to just come out with the truth already. "We were just, uh… You know, having guy talk. Like guys do. Because we're guys."

"Guy talk, huh?"

"Yeah. Guy talk. Like, talking about… Uh… Sex… and stuff…"

"You and Erik were talking about sex?"

"…Yes." Bickslow refrained from burying his face in his pillow. _What the_ ** _fuck_** _am I saying?_ He was sure Lucy was going to burst out laughing any second.

And, admittedly, Lucy was trying so hard _not_ to laugh. It was probably the most ridiculous thing she'd heard all week, and Violet had been saying some pretty amusing things lately. Even if Erik and Bickslow were kind of friends, Erik having _guy talk_ with Bickslow was quite literally the last thing he would do, _especially_ if it involved talking about sex, because he hated anything to do with it. As far as Lucy even knew, Erik had really only slept with one person ever, and that was her. But _Bickslow_ didn't know Erik just wasn't into people in any capacity, because it just wasn't something he talked about. As far as he was concerned, it was no one's business, and Lucy just hadn't really cared much.

Erik just didn't do guy talk. Ever.

Even then, even if Erik hadn't been ace, _Bickslow_ talking to _Erik_ about anything to do with sex or whatever it was guys _actually_ talked about, was just completely unreasonable. Her boyfriend was basically a child, and while he had the foul mouth of an adult, he had an awful habit of bursting into a fit of giggles whenever other people started talking about sex or anatomy. It was also part of why Lucy found him so entertaining when he was editing a story, because if he wasn't questioning the placement of hands and legs, then he was giggling like a schoolgirl whenever he had to read a middle aged person's attempt at steamy sex while _strictly_ using _penis_ and _vagina_ to describe genitals - and Lucy had to agree that it really wasn't all that nice to read, at least based on the few that Bickslow had actually let her read and laugh about with him.

But, really, it was fairly obvious to Lucy that Bickslow was lying to her. She wished he'd just tell her what it was he and Erik had needed to talk about, but she supposed there was a reason for his secrecy. It had to be important for Erik to be in on it, and neither of them were ones for keeping things from her, at least as far as she knew.

For the time being though, Lucy decided to just give Bickslow the benefit of the doubt. She trusted him, and she liked to think that Bickslow would eventually tell her what he and Erik had been up to. "Alright. You don't want to tell me. That's fine," she said with a sigh, leaning forward to quickly press a kiss to his lips. "Just come up with a better excuse next time, alright?"

* * *

It was on a Friday a month later when Lucy sent Bickslow a message at work telling him that she'd be home a little late that night and that he'd have to pick Violet up from school. He'd been waiting for the perfect opportunity to propose, and with Lucy working late, his perfect opportunity had finally been handed to him on a silver platter. Granted, it was a little before her birthday which was what he'd originally been considering, but it was still fine.

It was honestly a miracle that Violet hadn't already blurted it out, but then again, she was six, so Bickslow had a feeling she'd just forgotten about it. That was fine, though.

When the final bell rang at the school, Bickslow was waiting under the tree and staring at his phone screen, endlessly searching for something to cook for dinner that night. He was reading over one recipe when Violet finally came out and ran across the courtyard and just about scared the crap out of him when she collided with him and hugged his middle. "Oh, Jesus, Vi," Bickslow chuckled, putting his phone back in his pocket as he looked down to see Violet grinning up at him. "Scared me, you cheeky monkey."

"Sorry," she giggled. "Where's Mummy?"

"She's working late again."

"Pizza for dinner?"

"No, not tonight. You and me are gonna make something yummy for when she gets home, because tonight is a special night."

"Oooh, why?" Violet asked excitedly as she climbed into the car, Bickslow reaching around to make sure she was buckled in.

"Well, do you remember how we went and bought that pretty ring for her a little while ago? And why I bought it?"

Even with the seatbelt on, Violet was just about jumping out of her seat. "Ooh, ooh, are you gonna propose to Mummy?"

"That's the plan," Bickslow said. His plan also involved Lucy saying yes, but he actually had to ask her first. "But first, we have to go buy all the stuff to make dinner. So how about we go do that, huh?"

* * *

Bickslow had just put the apple pie for dessert in the oven when he heard the doorbell. Violet had just gone outside to play with the dogs for a few minutes after helping him with the pie, so with a glance back to her in the yard through the kitchen window, Bickslow wiped his hands quickly on a tea towel and then headed for the front door. It was already a little past five so he'd been planning on getting dinner started soon. But they rarely got visitors during the week, if it all (which was totally fine with Bickslow, because the less people he had to deal with, the better), so he really had no idea who could be at the door right then.

Opening up the door after the doorbell rang again, Bickslow almost didn't know what to say when he saw who was on the other side. "Erik?"

"That would be my name," the man muttered, picking his single bag of luggage back up from the step when Bickslow stepped aside and let him through. "Hello to you, too."

"I… I wasn't expecting you," Bickslow said, closing the door again. It really wasn't like he had a problem with Erik being there (well, not really, at least). It was just super unexpected, because Erik wasn't one for making unexpected visits, at least not as far as Bickslow knew anyway. "Did Lucy know? I mean, were you… Was one of us supposed to pick you up from the airport or something?"

"Nope. But I got a couple weeks off so I thought I'd come by for a little while." Erik shrugged. He hadn't really been expecting the time off either, considering he'd originally had business in Enca's capital, but plans had changed and his schedule had opened up a little, so he'd hopped on the plane to Magnolia and decided to surprise them all by stopping by. "Unless… This is a bad time or something…" he added, taking Bickslow's silence and wide eyes as a bad sign.

"Oh! No, no, of course not," Bickslow quickly said.

"You sure? 'Cause if it's a problem, I can go."

"It's fine, really." Considering it had been Bickslow's idea that they empty out the third bedroom to turn it into a guest room for Erik, he really didn't mind that Erik was there. It was more convenient for everyone that Erik stayed with them when he was town anyway, because he didn't have to pay for a hotel and he got to spend more time with Violet and Lucy that way too. "It's just…" Bickslow rubbed the back of his neck as he watched Erik for a moment. "I was planning on proposing tonight, so…"

"Oh, shit." As little as Erik cared about the whole thing because he thought it was a good thing, he certainly hadn't wanted to gatecrash and get in the way of Bickslow's plans. He was planning on staying in town for at least a week anyway, so there was really no harm in getting out of the way for the night. "I'll go stay at a hotel—"

Bickslow quickly stepped in front of Erik when he made to get past and get back to the door. "Erik, it's fine. I mean it. You don't have to go." It was probably for the best that Erik stayed anyway. Being part of Lucy's and Violet's lives meant putting up with Erik, too, and that was fine with Bickslow. "The more the merrier, y'know?" he offered awkwardly. "Besides, Lucy and Vi will be glad you're here."

* * *

As soon as Lucy pulled into the driveway beside Bickslow's car and switched the engine off, she opened up the door and kicked her shoes out onto the lawn and wondered if she should just stay there for a few moments to rest her eyes, or just go inside and be done with it. She'd been working late more and more often that year, and while she loved the extra money, she was exhausted. Her body just couldn't handle all the long hours anymore.

She needed a break, and the sooner the better.

Eventually, Lucy climbed out of the car, picked up her shoes again, and headed for the front door. All she wanted to do was have a shower, put her comfy pyjamas on, and cuddle up with Violet on the lounge until she fell asleep.

As soon as she unlocked the front door, Lucy was greeted with the smell of her favourite spices, reminding her exactly of her favourite restaurant just a few blocks away. "I'm home," she called out tiredly, patting each of the dogs when they all ran down the hall for her. "Something smells good…"

Violet came skipping down the hall as soon as Lucy had managed to get past the dogs, each of them only trailing behind her like the over friendly puppies they always were. "Bickso and me made dinner," Violet said, hugging her mother's middle. Truthfully, she hadn't helped that much, but she'd been the official taster so that counted. "Daddy help, too!"

"Hm, did he?" Lucy murmured. She was too tired to pay much attention to what Violet had said, and it didn't help that she didn't even make any sense some of the time.

"Uh-huh!"

"Hey, come on. I only set the table," Erik chimed in as Violet dragged Lucy into the kitchen where Bickslow was busy taking the pots off the stove. "You did most of the work."

Lucy almost didn't know what to say. She hadn't expected to see Erik for at least a few more months, and Lucy was fairly certain that the last time he'd dropped by completely unannounced was when she'd still been pregnant with Violet, not including the time he'd dropped by for the night just to go off with Bickslow and be mysterious. Then again, she was so tired from working so much that it was more than likely that Erik had told her he was coming by and she just hadn't remembered. Regardless, she was happy to see him, and him being there just made her day that little bit better.

"You… What are you doing here?!" She dropped her shoes and purse where she stood so she could run and hug Erik. "I can't believe you're here!"

"Had some time off so I thought I'd come surprise you," Erik chuckled. It was almost as if Lucy hadn't seen him for an entire year, when it had only been a month since he'd last visited. Granted, the last time he'd stopped by it had been more for Bickslow's benefit so he hadn't really had the time to see much of Lucy or Violet that time.

"Well, consider it a success then!" She squeezed her arms around him again before she finally stepped back to pick her bag up off the floor, and walk around the counter to see what Bickslow was up to. Erik only went back to the empty stool next to Violet at the breakfast bar where he picked up a pencil and began colouring in one of the clouds in Violet's colouring book, which only ended with Violet telling him off for making the clouds _pink_ when they were clearly supposed to be _green_. "Sorry I was late," she said softly. "I know your new boss doesn't like it when you leave early. I'll try to be home on time next week."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it," Bickslow murmured. And it was true that his new boss wasn't exactly that fond of him lately considering he'd been having to leave early every couple of days to pick Violet up from school, but Bickslow didn't really care much about it. Erza hadn't minded him leaving early to pick Violet up, but then again, she'd also known Lucy and Violet for a lot longer than he had so Bickslow supposed that was part of it. Either way though, if Violet needed to be picked up from school, then she came first. And if he ended up getting fired over it, well he'd just have to find a better publishing house and that was fine. He turned quickly to kiss her cheek before he grabbed one of the other pots that had been on the stove behind him. "Anyway, come on, dinner's ready. Go sit at the table and I'll bring it in."

"Are you sure you don't want me to help you dish it up?"

"Mm-hmm. I've got it. You don't need to do anything other than relax." His plan revolved around giving Lucy the entire night off anyway, which meant he was going to do the dishes as well - not that that was anything new. "Vi, how about you go put your pencils away now, please. You can colour in some more before bed."

Violet quickly hopped down from the bench, gathering up her colouring book and putting the pencils back in the container. Erik followed her down the hallway, mumbling about helping her put them away. And accepting that she had nothing to do, Lucy merely went and sat down at the already prepared dining table. They rarely used that table as it was, only setting it up for when they had friends over or when the smaller table next to the kitchen was covered in clutter. For that table to be all set up with a fresh bunch of pink tulips and tea light candles in small jars on the centre of the table, Lucy knew that Bickslow was up to something. It was just a little _too_ nice for it to be just an ordinary dinner - not that she minded, of course.

With her colouring materials away, Violet skipped all the way out to the dining room while Erik veered off to the kitchen again. "So… Are you still going to, uh… you know?" he asked, grabbed the pot from where Bickslow had set it on the bench so he could spoon the curry over the beds of rice in each bowl.

"What? Oh. Uh… Yeah, I guess so," Bickslow mumbled. He hadn't really thought much about it. Somehow he'd almost forgotten that he was doing all of that to propose. Erik showing up had kind of thrown him, and between going grocery shopping, walking the dogs, cleaning the house, helping Violet with her worksheet, and then getting dinner and dessert ready, Bickslow just hadn't had time to think about whether he'd actually _still_ propose or not. Still, now that he was thinking about it, Bickslow wasn't sure if there was any reason _not_ to propose. Everything had gone to plan so far.

Well, mostly.

"And are you sure you don't want me to clear out for the night? Because I really don't—"

"Erik, man, I swear to god." Bickslow set the bowl of rice down so he could turn and place his oven-mitt-covered hands on Erik's shoulders. "Shut up. You don't need to leave. I mean, I gave you a damn room, didn't I? You're always going to be welcome here."

Erik wasn't entirely convinced, but he wasn't going to argue. So, here merely set the pot with the curry out of the way just so he could grab the smaller saucepan from the stove that Bickslow had him made earlier just so he could spoon it onto his own bowl of rice and not have to worry about picking out the chunks of chicken. Erik hadn't even asked for it, but Bickslow had insisted and really, Erik had known better than to complain to the guy that had offered to cook his separately.

Lucy was listening to Violet tell her all about her day when Bickslow and Erik finally joined them, each carrying two bowls to set down on the table. "Dinner is served, my dear," Bickslow said, placing one bowl down in front of Lucy before taking the seat next to her.

She smiled down at the setting before looking back up to everyone around the table. "This is really great, honestly," she said softly. "You didn't need to do all of this, though." She wasn't oblivious to the fact that the house had been cleaned, and they were all dressed up and wearing nice (and clean, which said a lot for Violet) clothes. Lucy was almost inclined to think it was her birthday.

"I know, but I wanted to. We don't really go out and do nice things very often, and you've been working really hard lately so me and Vi thought you deserved a nice night in for a change." It wasn't like it was a complete lie. Sure, he had other intentions, but if it had come down to it, Bickslow knew that he hadn't needed to make her a nice dinner just so he could propose. He could've done it over pizza or when they were getting into bed for the night later. Still, Bickslow liked to think that doing it over a nice dinner gave it a, well… A nice touch. And he sure as hell hoped that it was nice enough that Lucy actually said yes. Clearing his throat, Bickslow scooted back on his chair slightly so he could reach into the pocket of his trousers and pull out the small round box he'd been carrying since he'd left work that day, then place it gently on the corner of the table in front of Lucy. "Besides, I, uh… I wanted to do this, too…" he mumbled.

Lucy's eyes flicked up as Bickslow pried the lid from the box, and as soon as he did she couldn't help bringing her hands up to her mouth to muffle the sounds she let out. She couldn't even tell if she was actually crying or just squealing, but she could feel her eyes just beginning to fill with tears.

Erik couldn't wipe the smirk off his face as he quietly sipped from his glass of water, and Violet beside him was so excited she was just about vibrating on the seat. It was a miracle she was actually silent.

Bickslow gracefully slid off his chair so he could kneel down in front of Lucy, taking one hand between his own. He honestly couldn't tell if Lucy was laughing or crying but he liked to think it was latter for some reason. "I thought that when I eventually proposed that it'd be all romantic and it'd just be the two of us, but I guess that was kind of stupid because, well… We're never _really_ alone," he mumbled. "N-Not that I'm complaining or anything, because it's fine."

Erik tried not to roll his eye and Lucy almost laughed. She'd admit that she'd fantasised about that kind of thing happening - maybe not actually getting married or Bickslow proposing, but just being together in the long run - but she'd just never really thought it would actually _happen_. Sometimes Lucy still just didn't know how she deserved to have someone like him, because he was far too good to her, and he was far too good to Violet, too. Neither of them really deserved Bickslow, as far as Lucy was concerned, but that didn't really matter.

"Anyway…" Bickslow continued, shifting on his knee slightly. "I just, uh… I just want to tell you how thankful I am for you letting me into your lives, because you and Vi… You both mean the world to me and I really can't imagine my life without you anymore. And… And _marrying_ you… I know it means accepting Vi and knowing that she comes first, and…" He tilted his head towards Erik after quickly glancing in his direction, trying his best not to roll his eyes as he mumbled, "And I guess it means putting up with him, too, but that's—"

"Yes!" Lucy choked out, bringing her hand away from her mouth as she laughed at herself, tears rolling down her cheek slowly.

Bickslow blinked. "Huh?"

"My answer is yes," she sniffled.

" _Oh_. But… But I haven't even asked you yet!"

"Then hurry up!"

Bickslow supposed that was his cue to _actually_ ask her. He wasn't quite so nervous to do it considering Lucy had seemingly already given him his answer, but for some reason, he still felt strangely awkward. He supposed Erik and Violet giggling away quietly didn't help. _It's fine. It's just a question. A perfectly harmless question you already know the answer to._ Bickslow took a moment, shifting slightly again and looking down to where Lucy's free hand was idly rubbing circles on the back of his palm.

Finally, looking back up when he was sure he'd taken just a little too long to hype himself up, and not really being able to help the nervous grin that settled on his face, he quietly said, "Will you marry me?"

"Of course I will, stupid!" Lucy didn't waste a second before she sat forward, quickly kissing him before wrapping her arms around him and forcing Bickslow's head up so far that it was almost painful. "God, yes, of course I'll marry you," she sniffled, well aware of the fact that she was probably squeezing Bickslow just a little too tightly, but she figured he'd survive. She didn't even need to think about her answer, not even for a second. "I love you… I love you so much."

Bickslow still couldn't help but be a little stunned, even if he knew that Lucy would've agreed anyway. It just felt oddly surreal, like he was off in a dream somewhere, but he knew he wasn't. Still, he couldn't imagine his life going any other way and he'd claim for the rest of his days that Lucy (and Violet, by extension) was the best thing to ever happen to him.

"I call dibs on being your best man, by the way," Erik added with a mouthful of rice once Violet got up from her seat and ran around the table just to hang onto Bickslow's shoulder, awkwardly joining in.

Bickslow managed to pull away from the girls just enough to tell Erik that he could've at least said _please_.

* * *

 _Ah, and there we are. Reminder that this was a prequel to **Dawn** , chapter 17 of Fairies of Fiore (my drabble collection). _

_While this is the official ending, I will be coming back to it at some point to write a couple more drabbles! I think a few people wanted to see the class party that was mentioned in chapter 4. I also really wanted to explore the CoLu BrOTP some more, so one of the stories will be set before Lucy has Violet. I don't know when I'll get to these, but I will at some point... Eventually. I still need to finish off the Shattered one-shots and some other fics first._

 _I think a few people also wanted Erik to be gay as well, and... I considered it, but there's not anywhere near enough aro/ace fics, and I really like ace!Erik. He can still be gay if you want him to be. Doesn't really matter. But as far as I'm concerned, he's ace. It makes me feel better about myself too._

 _Anyway, again, I hope you've enjoyed this little series! Reviews are always appreciated. Hopefully it won't be too long before I get something else updated._


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